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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



WISCONSIN 



AND 



ITS HESOUECES; 

WITH 

LAKE SUPERIOR, 

ITS COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION. 

XNCLUDINO 

A TRIP UP THE MISSISSIPPI, AND A CANOE VOYAGE 

ON THE ST. CROIX AND BRULE RIVERS 

TO LAKE SUPERIOR. 

TO WHICH ARE APPENDED, 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE, WITH THE 

ROUTES OF THE PRINCIPAL RAILROADS, 

LIST OP POST-OFFICES, Etc. 

WITH ILLUSTRATONS AND AUTHENTIC MAPS OF WISCONSIN AND THE 
REGION OF LAKE SUPERIOR, 

BY 

JAMES S. RITCHIE. 

PHILADELPHIA: ^1 

CHARLES r>E SILVER, 

No. 714 Chestnut Street. 

KEEN & LEE, 

148 LAKE STREET, CHICAGO. 

• 1857. 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the yeax 1857, by 
CHARLES DESILVER, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 
District of PennsylTania. 

BIEBEOZYFED BT J. FAOAN, FHILAD£LFHIA. ^ 



TO THOSE 

UPON WHOSE FUTURE EFFORTS 

MUST DEPEND THE WELFARE OF THEIR STATE, 

AND 

HER POSITION AND INFLUENCE IN THIS GREAT CONFEDERACY, 

THE YOUNG MEN OF WISCONSIN, 

THIS EFFORT TO DEVELOP HER RESOURCES, 

AND 
'INCREASE HER POWER, 

Ks a^csiJcctfulIj Knscrfbe"Q h^ tijeft' JfxttVLti, 
THE AUTHOR. 



(iii) 



PREFACE. 



The preparation of the following pages was under- 
taken, in consequence of a strong impression left upon 
the mind of the author, after several tours through 
Wisconsin, that the advantages afforded by that ra- 
pidly increasing State were very insufficiently known. 
With a desire to afford correct information, much pains 
have been taken to obtain, from undoubted authority, 
those statistics which distlose the true character of her 
soil, climate, and resources. He has endeavored to 
bring within a moderate space, such a knowledge of 
the advantages presented by Wisconsin, as should in- 
duce the worthy and enterprising settler to find a 
happy home within her borders. 

For many of the statements made, the author is en- 
abled to refer to the testimony of intelligent farmers 
residing on the shores of Lake Superior and in other 
sections of the country. He is also greatly indebted 
to the press throughout the State, for the kind man- 
ner in which his inquiries have been replied to. He 
desires to acknowledge the favors received from Ly- 
1* (v) 



VI PREFACE. 

man C. Draper, Esq., Secretary of the Historical 
Society, and returns his thanks to Andrew J. Aiken, 
Esq., Secretary of the Board of Trade of Milwaukee, 
for the assistance so kindly proffered. The value of 
the work is much enhanced by the correct manner in 
which the maps, accompanying it, have been engraved 
by Mr. J. L. Hazzard, of Philadelphia, to whose intelli- 
gence and skill the author feels greatly indebted. 
That the work is free from errors can hardly be ex- 
pected. The author can only say that he has earnestly 
endeavored to make it so. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGB 

CHAPTER I. 
The Early History of Wisconsin 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Face of the Country — Area — Character of the Settlers — Foreign 
Immigration — Climate 24 

CHAPTER III. 
Agricultural Advantages — Soil, etc 33 

CHAPTER IV. 

Geology of Wisconsin — Rocks — Lead — Copper — Zinc — Iron — 
Building Stone — Earthwork Antiquities 48 

CHAPTER v. 
Lumber Regions — ^^Rivers — Lakes , 66 

CHAPTER VL 
The Principal Towns — Milwaukee — Madison — Racine, &c 82 

CHAPTER VIL 
General Description of Counties — Census Report 124 

CHAPTER Vm. 

Grant of Lands by Congress — La Crosse and Milwaukee — Chi- 
cago — St. Paul and Fond du Lac, and other Railroads 133 

CHAPTER IX. 
Public Lands — Pre-emption Law — Advice to Settlers — Extracts 
from the Press — General Remarks 162 

(vii) 



Viii CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

LAKE SUPERIOR, 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGB 

Lake Superior — Pictured Rocks — Climate — Islands, &c 177 

CHAPTER II. 

Mineral Resources — Copper — Silver — Iron — Fisheries — Com- 
merce — Sault Ste. Marie Canal — General Remarks 186 

CHAPTER III. 

City of Superior — Its Situation — Harbor — Advantages — Rail- 
roads — Rise and History — Progress — Agricultural Resources 
of the Nemadji and St. Louis Rivers 224 

CHAPTER IV. 

Principal Towns — Ontonagon — Marquette — Eagle River — Eagle 
Harbor — Copper Harbor — Bayfield — Bay City and Ashland — 
La Pointe, &c 256 

CHAPTER V. 

The Early Settler of Lake Superior 262 

CHAPTER VL 

A Tour — Milwaukee to St. Paul — Steamboat Life — Scenery on 
the Upper Mississippi — Lake Pepin — Towns — St. Paul — Its 
Improvement, &c. — Canoe Voyage on the St. Croix and Brul^ 
Rivers to the City of Superior 267 

PART III, 

APPENDIX. 

Constitution of Wisconsin 277 

State Government 803 

List of Post Offices 304 

List of Newspapers 311 



INTRODUCTION. 



"When tlie Israelites of old approached their promised Canaan, 
■with a laudable curiosity to know what kind of a territory had been 
given to them for an inheritance, but for which they "were yet to 
fight — they sent forth trusty men to spy out the land, and an- 
xiously awaited their report. Had there been found on that side of 
Jordan a book, which fully and truly described the plain and the 
valley, the mountain and the high places of their future home, how 
eagerly would they have perused its descriptions of grandeur, and 
its scenes of peaceful repose ? 

Every American settler has his Jordan to pass, and his land of 
promise in the distance ; but with many advantages over those same 
old Israelites — he does not go with an army with banners — he has 
no Jebusite to drive away ; scarce a solitary red-skin is left to add 
the picturesque to the landscape — all have disappeared before the 
marvellous approach of the pale faces. He goes to enter upon a 
peaceful heritage ; and he may carry in his hand, as he sits in the 
rail car, or upon the lofty deck of the gallant steamer, a full and 
perfect description of the very spot towards which he is making his 
rapid journey. Is he a sturdy son of the soil, seeking for some fer- 
tile region where, by the strength of his lusty arms, he intends to 
compel the virgin earth, thus roughly wooed, to bring forth her first 
fruits? He can at once learn, by what soft murmuring stream, 
"whose banks are clad with verdure, he may, with the fairest pros- 
pect of success, erect his simple cottage, soon with industry and 
care, to become the extensive farm house, and the home of a pros- 
pering and happy family. Where are those glorious prairies, whose 
deep, dark mould, turned by the glittering ploughshare, in a single 
year returns a harvest which repays both for outlay and for labor? 
The description is before him, he has but to read and to rejoice. 

Is the traveller one whose object is to delve into the bosom of the 
earth in search of her more deeply hidden treasures? Inquirers 
have preceded him also, and he may learn where have already been 
discovered mines of mineral wealth, accessible, and wanting only 
the spirit of enterprise for their full and rich development. Does 
the merchant seek for a location where a prosperous business may 
be rapidly concentrated. He, too, may read of the situations in- 
viting trade and commerce, where the great inland sea bathes with 
its swelling floods, site after site, upon which ere long must stand the 
noble city, or where the Father of Waters sweeps by, bearing to the 
distant sea port the gallant steamer, which conveys the products of 
the land to exchange for those of other climes. 

Nor will the adventurer, who desires to launch his bark on a rising 



X INTEODUCTION. 

tide, and, by judicious investment in a growing country, to take ad- 
vantage of all that energy and enterprise which point the road to 
fortune, seek in vain. He also can discover, where are to be found 
the new and growing village — the more ambitious city, where already 
town lots have assumed a value foot per foot — or the region whose 
rapidly increasing population is bringing the more distant farm land 
into immediate agricultural demand. 

All this has been done for neighboring States, why shall it not be 
done for Wisconsin? Why shall her glorious situation be permitted 
to remain unknown, until sought for with painful scrutiny upon per- 
haps an inaccurate, certainly upon an antiquated map ? 

Why should her climate, second to none, in healthfulness, and 
already proved to be, along her northern shores, as pure as that of 
Upper Egypt, not be mentioned to the invalid, to whose suffering 
frame it would impart renewed health? Or her soil, whose depth 
and richness are such as to encourage industry and enterprise, not be 
brought to the attention of the agriculturist? 

May not the strong impressions, left upon the mind, in repeated 
journeys over the wide-spread commonwealth, be told for the bene- 
fit of others ? 

The position of Wisconsin, is certainly second to that of no State 
in the American Union — of ample size, and embracing every variety 
of surface ; her boundaries seem prescribed by nature, and are suited 
to insure the most perfect development of her natural advantages. 
On the east, the waters of Lake Michigan bound her shores for a 
distance of nearly two hundred miles, affording many noble harbors, 
from which a commerce, sustained from her vast internal resources, 
must at no distant day be carried on. Lake Superior washes her 
northern shores for one hundred and fifty miles; and there, enter- 
prise has begun to lay out cities, and has already discovered rich 
mines of mineral products, which, in quantity and quality, are un- 
equalled in the world. This Inland Sea affords a commercial high 
road to the Atlantic, which may yield competition, to the now rapidly 
growing facilities of railroad transportation. 

The Father of Waters rolls upon her western limits, giving a steam- 
boat navigation for a distance of three hundred and fifty miles within 
her borders. Has any other State, or any other country, a more ad- 
tageous position ? To this belongs an interior of diversified cha- 
racter, irrigated by numerous streams, which discharge their waters 
on either side into the Mississippi or Lake Michigan, and studded 
with lakes which add beauty, while they diffuse fertility around. 

A noble, free Constitution, equal laws, and the general diffusion 
of intelligence, afford to this favored State the brightest prospect 
of an early and successful development. If, to this end, our efforts 
shall, in any small degree, prove auxiliary, we shall feel fully paid for 
our voluntary, but well-intended effort. 

James S. Ritchie. 
August 1, 1857. 



PART I. 

WISCONSIN AND ITS RESOURCES. 



(11) 



WISCONSIN AND ITS RESOURCES, 



CHAPTER I. 

THE EARLY HISTORY OF WISCONSIN, 

That part of our country bordering on the Great Lakes 
was partially explored by the French missionaries and 
voyageurs from Canada several years before the English 
cavaliers lauded on Virginia soil, and many years before 
the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on the rock at Ply- 
mouth. It was not the thirst of sordid gain that influenced 
the first white man who looked down into the clear waters 
of Lake Superior, or who gazed with awe upon the mighty 
Mississippi, rolling down its turbid flood from the unknown 
wilds above. The spirit of religious enthusiasm explored 
the basin of the great lakes and the valley of the 
Mississippi. 

To the Society of Jesus was given the task of civilizing 
and christianizing the red men of the Northwest. Its 
missionaries, inspired with a heroism that defied every 
danger, and endured every toil, sacrificed country, wealth, 
and-station to bear the cross to these unknown tribes. In 
all history, ancient or modern, there is no Society that can 
be compared with this in the devotedness of its members. 
From Quebec they ascended the Ottawa, and, crossing the 
chain of small lakes, they preached the word of God in the 
2 (13) 



14 THE EARLY HISTORY 

hovels of the Algonquins on the bays of Huron. They 
sailed among the islands of the Manitouline Archipelago, 
and at Sault Ste. Mary, at the outlet of Superior, they 
proclaimed the gospel to the Chippewas ; entering that 
vast inland sea, they penetrated to its farthest extremity, 
where the St. Louis, white with the foam of its cataracts, 
enters the lake amid groves of pine. 

As early as 1624, Gabriel Sagard, a missionary, made 
his way to the Huron tribes on the borders of the lake of 
the same name. In 1634, the Jesuits Brebeuf and Daniel, 
and several others of their Order, visited the Huron tribes. 
On the 17th day of September, 1641, the Fathers Jogues 
and Raymbault embarked in their frail birch-bark canoes 
for the Sault Ste. Mary, They floated over the clear 
waters, between the picturesque islands of Lake Huron, 
and, after a voyage of seventeen days, arrived at the Falls 
of St. Mary. Here they found a large assembly of Chip- 
pewas. After numerous inquiries, they heard of the Na- 
dowessies, the famed Sioux, who dwelt eighteen days' 
journey further to the west, beyond the Great Lake. 
Thus did the religious zeal of the French bear the cross to 
the banks of the St. Mary and the confines of Lake Supe- 
rior, and look wistfully towards the homes of the Sioux in 
the valley of the Mississippi, five years before the New 
England Eliot had addressed the tribe of Indians that 
dwelt within six miles of Boston harbor.* 

Two traders passed the winter of 1659 among the 
Indians of Lake Superior ; and in the following summer 
they arrived at Quebec with sixty canoes laden with furs, 
and rowed by three hundred Algonquins. The narratives 
of these men excited a spirit of emulation in the breast of 
the Jesuits to bear the cross to the cabins of those distant 
tribes. Father Mesnard, an aged missionary, was selected 

* Bancroft. 



OF WISCONSIN. 15 

to establish a station as a place of assembly for the sur- 
rounding nations. He immediately set out, and on the 
15th day of October, 1661, he reached the bay which he 
called St. Theresa, and which may have been Keweenaw 
Bay, on the northern part of the State of Michigan. Here 
he resided more than eight months, surrounded by savages 
and a few French voyageurs. Being solicited by the 
Hurons, who had taken refuge in the Isle of St. Micliael, 
to visit them, he departed with one attendant for the 
Apostles' Isles. On his way he strayed from his attendant, 
and was never seen again. Many years afterwards his 
cassock and breviary were discovered in a Sioux lodge, 
and kept as amulets by the possessors. 

Undismayed by his sad fate, a successor arrived — Father 
Claude Allouez — who embarked, in 1665, on a missionary 
tour to the far west, and on the 1st of October arrived at 
La Pointe, the great village of the Chippewas, in the Bay 
of Che-goi-mei-gon, Wisconsin. Here he met deputations 
from ten or twelve of the neighboring tribes, assembled 
in council to concert measures against their enemies, the 
Sioux. On being admitted to an audience, Allouez, in the 
name of Louis XI Y., and as his viceroy, commanded 
peace, and offered commerce and alliance with France. 
His exhortations were received joyfully by the admiring 
savages, and soon a chapel rose on the shores of this bay, 
which attracted crowds of Indians, and the mission station 
of the "Holy Spirit" was founded. 

After residing about two years on the southern coast of 
Lake Superior, and connecting his name imperishably with 
the progress of discovery in the West, Allouez returned to 
Quebec, and was succeeded by the distinguished James 
Marquette in the charge of the mission of the " Holy 
Spirit." For several succeeding years these pious mis- 
sionaries were employed in converting the savage tribes, 



16 THE EARLY HISTORY 

and confirming the influence of France from Green Bay to 
the head of Lake Superior. 

The country was made known by these enterprises, and, 
in 16tl, Talon, the king's lieutenant of Canada, took mea- 
sures to extend the power of France to the utmost limits 
of the northwest. He selected Nicholas Perrot, a man 
well suited to his purpose, supplied him with a sufficient 
force, and sent him to the far west to propose a congress 
of the various nations the following spring at the Sault 
Ste. Mary. He visited all the northern tribes with whom 
the French at that time had any trade, and also the Miamis 
at the foot of Lake Michigan, where Chicago now stands. 

At this congress nearly all the nations of the north were 
present, by their delegates, and were met by the Sieur St. 
Lusson on the part of France, who was charged to take 
possession of all the country and receive them under the 
protection of its king. After an address by Perrot, and 
a declaration by St. Lusson of the act of taking posses- 
sion, and of the protection of the king, a cross of cedar 
was raised, and the " whole company of the French bowed 
down before the emblem of man's redemption, and chaunted 
to its glory a solemn hymn." Alongside of the cross a 
cedar column was erected, marked with the lilies of the 
Bourbons. Thus, says Bancroft, " were the authority and 
the faith of France uplifted in the presence of the ancient 
races of America, in the heart of our continent. Yet this 
daring ambition of the servants of a military monarch was 
doomed to leave no abiding monument — this echo of the 
middle age to die away." 

M. Talon having been very active in extending the do- 
minion of France over the nations in the north and west, 
was anxious to discover the sources, direction, character, 
and outlet of a great river, which had often been mentioned 
to the French by the Indians, and which was supposed to 



OF WISCONSIN. It 

reach the sea on the west, or fall into the Gulf of Mexico 
on the south. The river was called by the Indians Massa- 
sepo, or Missi-sipi, great river. For this purpose he sent 
Father Marquette, a Jesuit, and Joliet, a citizen of Que- 
bec, and several voyageurs, to ascertain the truth of these 
representations. In 1673, Talon, at his own request, was 
recalled, and was succeeded by Count de Frontenac, who 
continued the discoveries commenced by his predecessor. 
On the 10th day of June, of the same year, Marquette, 
Joliet, and their voyageurs, lifting their two canoes on 
their shoulders, walked across the narrow portage that 
divides the Fox river from the Wisconsin. " The guides 
returned," says the gentle Marquette, ''leaving us alone, 
in this unknown land, in the hands of Providence. " Em- 
barking on the broad Wisconsin, they sailed down the 
stream, and on the llth day of June "they entered hap- 
pily the Great River, with a joy that could not be ex- 
pressed;" they descended the river about sixty leagues 
below the mouth of the Wisconsin, and landed on the bor- 
ders of a beautiful prairie, where they discovered foot- 
prints ; leaving their canoes, they walked about six miles, 
and found a village of Indians, who called themselves 
Illinois. Thus Marquette and Joliet were the first white 
men who trod the soil of Iowa. 

In 166t, Robert Cavalier de La Salle, attracted by 
these reports, embarked to seek his fortune in New France, 
as this part of the country was then called. Encouraged 
by the French government, in 1679 he started from the 
vicinity of the Niagara river, with Father Louis Hennepin, 
a Franciscan missionary, two other priests, and thirty men, 
on board a small vessel of ten tons. "This vessel was 
named the Grifi&n, in honor of the arms of Frontenac, 
Governor of Canada," and was the first vessel of European 
2* 



18 THE EARLY HISTORY 

construction that had ever ploughed the waters of the great 
inland seas of America. 

The adventurers proceeded up Lakes Erie and Huron 
into Lake Michigan. After pursuing the voyage as far as 
Green Bay, La Salle sent the vessel back to Niagara with 
a rich cargo of furs, while he and his associates proceeded 
to the southern part of the lake to await her return. The 
ship, however, foundered on the lake, and nothing was 
afterwards heard of vessel or crew. 

At tlie head of Lake Michigan and the mouth of St. 
Joseph's river, "he constructed the trading house, with 
palisades, known as the Fort of the Miamis." Despairing 
of the return of his vessel, in 1680 he sent Father Hen- 
nepin with two voyageurs on a tour of discovery to tlie 
Upper ]\[ississippi. They descended the Illinois 4;o its 
junction with this river, and ascended the mighty stream 
far beyond the mouth of the Wisconsin. After a short 
captivity among the Sioux, they returned by way of the 
Wisconsin and Fox rivers, to the French mission of Green 
Bay. 

It is not within the scope of this work to relate the 
events which led to the further discoveries of La Salle, 
and to his taking possession of the country on the lower 
Mississippi in the name of Louis XIY. After his voyage 
down this river he returned to France, and, in 1684, sailed 
from there with a large force to discover the mouth of the 
Mississippi, but was unsuccessful in his designs. After 
building two forts on the Gulf of Mexico, and garrisoning 
them with some of his men, he departed from the Bay of 
St. Louis, in the northwestern part of the Gulf, on a journey 
overland to his fort on the Illinois river. Before reaching 
this fort he was treacherously murdered by some of his 
followers. 

In the year letO, the Sieur de Luth, a friend and com- 



OP WISCONSIN. 19 

panion of La Salle, appears to have been in the neighbor- 
hood of Lake Superior, at Pigeon river, on the southern 
extremity of the lake, where he built a fort and trading- 
post, which is still maintained, under the name of Fort 
Charlotte. 

The efforts of these discoverers gave to the French the 
control of the entire northwest. But this state of affairs 
could not long continue. The fierce struggles between the 
French and English for the mastery in Europe were carried 
to America. The English colonists sided heartily with the 
mother country. For years the war was confined, on this 
continent, to predatory excursions : each party, connecting 
themselves with the savage tribes, met with various success. 

On the 13th day of September, 1758, the English army, 
under General Wolfe, scaled the heights of Abraham, and 
met the French, under the Marquis de Montcalm, before 
Quebec. The struggle was well contested, but, as usual, 
the indomitable bravery of the Anglo-Saxon race carried 
the day. The French were totally routed. Quebec sur- 
rendered, and with it the possessions of France in America 
fell into the hands of the English. 

A few years later the independence of the American 
Colonies was acknowledged by England. After peace was 
declared, that vast region we have described was included 
in the boundaries of the present United States, and was 
formed by the Ordinance of 118*7 into the Northwest Ter- 
ritory. This territory embraced vast, uninhabited, and 
almost unexplored regions, stretching far beyond the utmost 
limit of civilization and government ; with the exception 
of a few trading posts, its only inhabitants were the Indians 
who roamed its wilds in pursuit of game, and who dis- 
puted, step by step, the advance of the white man. 

In 1830, the combined force of several tribes was met 
by the Americans under General Atkinson at the Bad Axe 



20 THEEARLYHISTORY 

river, and totally routed. This was the last struggle they 
made on Wisconsin soil. Several treaties followed, by 
which they ceded their lands to the United States. 

In 1836, Michigan, until that time a part of the North- 
west Territory, was formed into a sovereign State, and 
admitted as one of the Union. A new territorial govern- 
ment was, at the same time, organized over Wisconsin, 
vrhich included the lands lying between Lake Michigan 
and the Missouri river. 

At this period commenced a new era in the progress of 
the northwest. No sooner had a few daring pioneers set- 
tled in the wilderness, than the eager spirit of trade, ever 
on the watch for new fields of adventure, discovered the 
rich promise of gain offered by a region so wide and 
fertile. Commerce following the footsteps of the pioneers, 
came with the advance of the army of population. 

In 1838, a new territorial government was established 
over that portion of Wisconsin lying west of the Missis- 
sippi, called Iowa. The population of the two territories, 
at this time, was about 38,000. Such, however, were the 
inducements that the fertile lands and mineral resources of 
the Territory of Wisconsin held out to emigrants, that, in 
the year 1843, it is supposed that over 60,000 persons set- 
tled within her limits ; and from that time to the preseu' 
her increase has been without a parallel in the history ch 
the United States. 

In 1848, Wisconsin was, by an Act of Congress, ad 
mitted into the Union, constituting the twenty-ninth State» 
of the confederacy. Its limits were curtailed by making 
the St. Croix river the northwestern boundary, and giving 
that part of its land between this river and the Mississippi 
to the Territory of Minnesota. 

In regard to the origin of the name of the State, a 
communication to the Historical Society says : — " Wis- 



OF WISCONSIN. 21 

consin derives its name from the principal river which runs 
centrally through it. The Chippewas on its head waters 
call the river Wees-kon-san, which signifies ' g*athering of 
the waters.' They gave it this name on account of its 
numerous branches near its head concentrating into one 
stream, which afterwards runs so great a distance with but 
comparatively few tributaries to swell its current. The 
French voyageur called it Ouisconsin, the first syllable of 
which comes nearer to the sound of the Indian than does 
Wis. An attempt was made, a few years since, to restore 
the second syllable of this name to its original Indian sound 
by substituting ^ for c ; but this would not restore either the 
first or last. The attempt, however, was unpopular, and 
the Legislature solemnly decreed that the name should be 
spelled Wisconsin ; and this, probably, more from oppo- 
sition to the individual who attempted the restoration, than 
from correct literary taste, or any regard for the original 
■Indian name." 

Before closing these remarks on the history of this State, 
a short narrative of one of its earliest American settlers 
may not be out of place. It was published by the Wis- 
consin Historical Society. 

" One of the earliest comers to the southwestern part of 
the State was Ebenezer Brigham of Blue Mounds, the 
oldest and undoubtedly the first permanent American 
settler within the limits of Dane county. He journeyed 
from Massachusetts to St. Louis in 1818 ; thence, in the 
spring of 1828, he removed to Blue Mounds,, the most 
advanced outpost in the mines, and has resided there ever 
since, being, by four years at least, the oldest white settler 
in the county. The isolated position he thus settled upon 
will be apparent from the statement of a few facts. The 
nearest settler was at what is now Dodgeville, about twenty 



22 THE EARLY HISTORY 

miles distant. Mineral Point, and most of the other dig- 
gings, where villages have since grown up, had not then 
been discovered. On the southeast, the nearest house was 
on the O'Plaine river, twelve miles west of Chicago. On 
the east, Solomon Juneau was his nearest neighbor, at the 
mouth of the Milwaukee river; and on the northeast, 
Green Bay was the nearest settlement — Fort Winnebago 
not then being projected. The country at this time was 
part of Michigan Territory." In 1832, the Black Hawk 
war broke out, and caused great trouble and loss to the 
settlers. In 1836, the Territory of Wisconsin was or- 
ganized, and settlers arrived in great numbers. 

" In the twenty years' odd residence of Mr. Brigham in 
this region, what wonderful changes have passed before 
him I For several years after his coming the savages were 
sole lords of the soil. A large Indian village stood near 
the mouth of Token Creek ; another stood on the ridge 
between the second and third lake, in plain view of our 
present location ; ' and their wigwams were scattered all 
along the streams, the remnants of their gardens, etc., 
being still visible. Then there was not a civilized village 
in the State of any considerable size. When the capital 
was located here, he was the nearest settler to it — twenty- 
four miles distant I He stood on this ground before its 
selection as the seat of government was thought of, and 
from the enchanting beauty of the spot, predicted that a 
village would be built here. Fort Winnebago was com- 
menced in 1828, under the superintendence of Major 
Twiggs and Colonel Harney, and the protection it afforded 
greatly promoted and extended immigration. The rolling 
flood has now reached 700,000, hundreds of villages have 
sprung up, and everything is changed. From being him- 

1 City of Madison. 



OF WISCONSIN. 23 

self the sole proprietor of Dane, he now counts but one 
of some twenty thousand. Nothing remains of the In- 
dians but their graves. He has seen a savage people 
pass off the stage, and a civilized one come upon it, 
and all with a rapidity which must appear to him like 
a dream." 



CHAPTER II. 

FACE OF THE COUNTRY — AREA — POPULATION — CHARACTER 
OF THE SETTLERS — FOREIGN IMMIGRATION — CLIMATE. 

The surface of the State of "Wisconsin is everywhere 
undulating ; not hilly, much less mountainous. It may be 
called a vast plain, elevated from 600 to 1500 feet above 
the level of the ocean. The highest of the Blue Mounds, 
on the line between the counties of Dane and Iowa, rises 
ino feet above Lake Michigan, and is, perhaps, the most 
elevated land in the State. Towards Lake Superior the 
slope is very abrupt, and the rivers short, rapid, and bro- 
ken with falls. 

Such being a general description of its surface, the im- 
migrant will not look for Alpine scenery, or the bolder and 
subliraer features of the country of high mountain and 
deep valley. But in all that constitutes the beauty of the 
landscape, whether in the vestments of nature, or in those 
of capabilities which cultivation can alone develop, Wis- 
consin is without a rival. Among her ten thousand undu- 
lations, there is scarcely one which lifts its crown above its 
fellows, which does not disclose to the prophetic eye of 
taste a possible Eden, a vision of loveliness, which time 
and the hand of cultivation will not fail to realize and to 
verify. 

Wisconsin is situated between 42° 30' and 46° 58' north 
latitude, and between 87° and 92° 30' west longitude ; it 
is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by 
Lake Michigan, on the west by the Mississippi and St. 

(24) 



AREA AND POPULATION. 25 

Croix rivers, while on the northeast the rivers Montreal 
and Menomonee separate it from the State of Michigan. 
It contains an area of 54,000 square miles, exclusive of the 
waters of Lakes Michigan and Superior. 

In 1840, its population was 30,945, and in 1850 it had 
reached to 305,538 ; an increase at the rate of nearly 900 
per cent, during ten years. In 1855, according to the 
census reports, it was 552,109. The number of votes 
polled at the late Presidential election, was, in round num- 
bers, 120,000. With this basis for an estimate, the popu- 
lation in 1856 would not be less than 900,000.' The 
increase of the present year, up to July, 1857, and the 
foreign immigration, moderately estimated, would swell the 
present population to fully 1,000,000. The census of 1860 
will astonish even the most sanguine — it will reach, if not 
exceed, a population of a million and a half, without 
attaining the standard of increase of the past two years ; 
whereas, our immensely-increased railroad facilities, and 
other public improvements, together with the flood-tide of 
emigration, would naturally lead us to expect even a large 
increase over the past two years. 

Wisconsin has been greatly favored in the character and 

1 In the first district, three years ago, the whole vote for Con- 
gressman was 15,484. In 1856, the vote was 26,125 — an increase 
of 12,641 over the vote of 1854. 

In the second district, the whole vote, three years ago, was 
19,903. In 1856 it was 42,337— an increase of 22,434 over the vote 
of 1854. 

In the third district, the whole vote, three years ago, was 23,880. 
In 1856 it was 49,248— an increase of 25,368 over the vote of 1854. 

Crawford, in the second district, received 8,259 votes more than 
Hoyt did in 1854, and Washbnrne received 14,184 more than he did 
in 1854. 

These returns show an extraordinary increase in the number of 
voters in Wisconsin during the past two years. 
3 



26 CHARACTER OF THE SETTLERS. 

enterprise of her first settlers. The intellect, education, 
and integrity, as well as the wealth, enterprise, and skill 
of the immigrants from the Middle States and from New 
England, have laid the foundation of a social character 
which will leave its impress on this commonwealth for 
generations to come. After filling up the lower counties, 
the tide of immigration is now setting strongly to the 
fertile valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, the shores 
of the Mississippi, and Lake Superior. The newspapers 
published in the towns on the route of travel are full of 
accounts of the vast numbers of settlers going to the West 
and Northwest ; a large proportion of them preferring our 
favored State. " The cry is, still they come I" By rail- 
ways and steamers, the immigrants are pouring in by hun- 
dreds and thousands, from the Eastern, the Middle, and 
the Southern States, bringing with them the qualities which 
have made their native States the admiration of the world. 
The liberal spirit of our constitution and laws invite them ; 
here is the place for the young man just starting in life, for 
the old man seeking to provide for his children, for "all 
sorts of men," in search of fortune, fame or wealth ; there 
is abundance of room, and to spare The day is not far 
distant when our increase and natural advantages will place 
us among the foremost States in the Union ! 

Besides the unparalleled increase in population from the 
older States, Wisconsin has been equally fortunate in the 
numbers, wealth, and material of her foreign immigration. 
In the year 1856, over 10,000 emigrants arrived in New 
York alone, on their way to settle in our State — showing 
that we are well and favorably known abroad by those who 
have means to come to America, and have knowledge 
enough to guide them in making a selection before leaving 
their European homes. If we estimate the value, skill, and 
capital of each of these emigrants at $100, we have an 



FOREIGN IMMIGRATION. ' 2Y 

augmentation to our wealth, in a single year, of $1,000,000: 
When we reflect that the great majority of them are able- 
bodied men and women, acenstomed to hard and perse- 
vering labor, many to different branches of mechanics, etc., 
and nearly all possessed of various amounts of capital, the 
estimated value of each to our State, which we have given, 
will appear far below the reality. If we estimate each one 
at $500, we have the large amount of $5,000,000 added to 
our wealth in a single year, from foreign immigration alone. 
We must not forget that numbers of foreigners arrived by 
way of New Orleans, and entered our State on the Mis- 
sissippi border; besides, great numbers arrived at the lake 
ports by way of Canada. From the quarterly reports, it 
would appear that the number of emigrants arriving at 
New York this year will equal, if not surpass, that of 
1854. As we have now lines of steamboats, connecting 
with the Liverpool steamships at Quebec, there will no 
doubt be a very large increase this year from that source 
also. 

The following extract from the Report of the Railroad 
Commissioners of the State of New York, to the Legis- 
lature, is d propos : 

"The husbandman of Germany may harvest one crop 
on his native soil, migrate, plant and harvest another 
within a year, from his prairie farm beyond the Mississippi, 
meanwhile transferring himself and his family over one- 
fourth of the circumference of the globe. 

"The immigration has heretofore been mostly from the 
crowded fields and cities of Western Europe. In addition 
to this, we now have a massive migration of the Scandi- 
navian race — not of the pauper and enfeebled classes, but 
of almost entire communities — with vigor, wealth, and 
intellect, and with peculiar susceptibilities for assimilation 
with American habits, seeking a new home, where it can 



28 INHABITANTS, 

reproduce its civilization. As the promised land to tbe 
Israelite, so seems to them the boundless West, with its 
genial climate^ its fertile soil, and its ready access to the 
markets of the world." 

There is no reason to suppose that the future census of 
the now uninhabited portions of Wisconsin will not show 
the same ratio of increase as its past settlement has ; and, 
should such be the case, Wisconsin will, ten years hence, 
contain a population of over 1,800,000. Its aggregate 
increase of population, to the present time, from all 
sources, shows a relative advance far greater than that of 
any of the Western States. The statistics of emigration 
show that persons migrating usually seek a similar climate 
to the one they leave : hence it is that the population of 
Wisconsin is chiefly composed of immigrants from New 
England, New York, the northern portions of Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio, and from Great Britain, Germany, and 
the northern States of Europe ; and it is but reasonable 
to suppose that a large majority of the migrating popu- 
lation of these States and countries will seek a home in 
Wisconsin. 

Should our railroad companies pursue the enlightened 
and liberal policy of the Illinois Central Railroad, in the 
management of the grant of public lands recently donated 
to them by Congress, we shall see a rapid increase of set- 
tlements and towms along their route in the northern part 
of the State, hitherto unsettled and neglected. 

But the number of inhabitants in Wisconsin does not 
exhibit their relative strength and power. Our population 
are nearly all in the prime of life. You rarely meet a 
woman past fifty years of age ; still more rarely as old a 
man ; and large numbers are too young to have had many 
children. The Milwaukee American says: — "It is a 
fact, noticed and remarked by nearly every Eastern visitor 



INHABITANTS. 29 

to the West, that no small amount of the business of the 
West and Northwest is conducted by young men. Go 
where you will, in every city, town, and village, you will 
find more youthful countenances, elongated with the cares 
and anxieties of business pursuits, than those unacquainted 
with the peculiar circumstances attaching to western life 
and enterprise could be made to believe. Youth and 
energy are found conducting and managing our railroads 
and our banking institutions. Beardless youngsters are 
seen behind the desks — their desks — of our counting 
houses, and in our manufactories, mixed up with our com- 
merce, and, in short, taking active parts in every field of 
])usiness enterprise. A year's experience as a clerk, or an 
agent for others, gives him an insight into the modus 
operandi of 'making money,' and his wits are set in mo- 
tion, and his industrious ingenuity brought to bear in his 
own behalf, and he desires to *go into business for him- 
self.' Frequently with a small capital, oftener with none, 
he engages in some branch of traffic, and in a few years is 
' well to do in the world. ' Such is the history of many of 
the young merchants and business men in our State, and 
we do not believe that a more enterprising, intelligent, and 
thorough-going business community can be found than that 
of Wisconsin. Youth, energy, and a laudable ambition to 
rise in the world, are characteristic elements of the West : 
they have made her what she now is, and give glorious 
promise of her future." 

In one of our village or town hotels, crowded with mo- 
neyed boarders — the merchants, bankers, and chief me- 
chanics of the place — two-thirds of them will be found to 
be between twenty-five and thirty years of age ; their wives, 
of course, still younger. Our population of 1,000,000 are 
equal in industrial capacity to at least twice that number 
either in Europe or in the Atlantic States. 
3* 



30 CLIMATE. 

The question is asked by thousands of persons in the 
older States, What are the natural capabilities and advan- 
tages of Wisconsin, which have swelled her population to 
so large a number, and increased her resources at a rate so 
far beyond those of any of the new States in so short a 
time ? Our answers to all these inquiries will be arranged 
under a variety of heads, and we will endeavor to satisfy 
those desirous of emigrating to, or investing capital in, the 
West, that the State of Wisconsin presents superior advan- 
tages in climate, agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, 
to those of any State in the Union. Here, no one in health, 
who is willing to work, need be in want; if the means do 
not present themselves in one section they do in another. 
In fact, our wide domain is waiting for those who will 
come and avail themselves of its proffered wealth and inde- 
pendence. 

The most important points in which the climate of Wis- 
consin differs from that of the Atlantic States may be 
briefly enumerated as follows : 

1st. In its almost entire immunity from spring frosts and 
summer droughts. 

2d. In its salubrity and comparative dryness. 

3d. In the uniformity of the temperature of its winters. 

4th. In adaptation to the growth of all kinds of grain 
and other crops. 

Wisconsin is universally conceded to be the healthiest of 
all the Western States. No consideration is, perhaps, 
more important to those seeking a country suitable for 
residence and enterprise, than the character of its climate. 
Henlth is the first, and comfort the next great object, in 
selecting a permanent abode. Tested by these qualities, 
Wisconsin presents prominent inducements. Its atmo- 
sphere is drier, more transparent and bracing than those 
of the other States on the same parallel. Its whole area 



CLIMATE. 31 

is remarkably free from fevers and ague, which are the 
scourge of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and part of Iowa. 

The latitude of the State is between 42° and 46° 58', 
and thus, from geographical position, is not liable to objec- 
tions existing either north or south. It is a settled fact, 
that no nation has ever arrived at, or for any period main- 
tained greatness or wealth, unless, in the changes of climate 
in that nation, winter be found to exist. The latitude of 
Philadelphia is about 40° north ; yet, from position, the 
vicissitudes of climate are greater than with us. There the 
winter is somewhat shorter, and apparently concentrated ; 
yet its changes are destructive to comfort and health. New 
York is liable to similar but greater objections. With 
every change of wind there the temperature changes — this 
arises from the contiguity and antagonism of large bodies 
of land and water — and can never be averted. Our posi- 
tion, approximating the centre of the continent, exempts 
us from these changes ; and this blessing is manifested in 
general good health and a corresponding physical deve- 
lopment. We have no epidemics; no endemics; mias- 
matic affections, with their countless ills, are unknown 
here ; and the lustre of the languid eye is restored, and the 
paleness of the faded cheek disappears when brought into 
our midst. 

In spring no late frosts occur ; the whole country is 
clothed, as by magic, in robes of the greenest verdure, and 
a thousand varieties of wild flowers enamel the hill-sides 
and prairies. It is one of the loveliest sights in the world 
to walk out on the prairie as the morning sun, rising behind 
a distant swell of the plain, glitters upon myriads of dew 
drops. All nature — 

*' Glowing -with life, by breezes fann'd, 
Luxuriant, lovely, as sbe came, 
Fresh in her youth from God's own hand." 



32 CLIMATE. 

The heat of the summer months is not excessive ; the 
days are warm and bright, generally with a fine breeze at 
all times, from the west, southwest, and south, and the 
nights cool and pleasant. The temperature and duration 
of this season is adapted to perfect all the products natural 
to the latitude, and is not oppressive. 

Autumn in Wisconsin is the most charming season of the 
year. A soft haze rests on every object, mellowing the 
distant landscape, dreamy in the lingering sunshine of the 
dying year. 

*' Her harvest yielded and her work all done, 
Basking iu beauty 'neath the autumn sun." 

In winter the weather is uniform, and free from those 
sudden variations of temperature to which most other 
latitudes are subject ; owing to the stillness of the air, and 
the absence of moisture from the atmosphere, the cold is 
less perceptible than in more moderate climes, where the 
winds are high and the air raw and damp. Snow remains 
on the ground till the thaws of spring, but never falls to as 
great a depth as in the New England and Middle States. 
Navigation of the rivers is usually suspended by the 1st 
of December. The Mississippi closes by the middle of 
this month, and opens the latter part of March. Lakes 
Michigan and Superior generally close and open about 
the same time. 

From Mr. Seymour's work' we quote the following: 
"It is, indeed, delightful in speculation to talk of con- 
stant spring, of perpetual verdure, of flowers in bloom at 
all seasons, of purling brooks never obstructed by ice. of 
a mild climate, where Jack Frost never has the audacity 
to pinch one's nasal proboscis or spread his w^hite drapery 

1 The New England of the West. 



CLIMATE. 33 

over the surface of the earth ; but it is a problem, not yet 
fully solved, whether a tropical climate contributes more 
to one's happiness than the varying seasons of a Northern 

clime. 

" Nay, whatever doubt there is on the subject predomi- 
nates in favor of a Northern latitude. Industry, intelli- 
gence, morality, and virtue, are exhibited more generally 
among the inhabitants of Northern latitudes than those of 
Southern. 

"If one's physical enjoyment is equally promoted by 
the bracing air of a cold climate, then, indeed, the argu- 
ment is in favor of the latter, for vigor of body and purity 
of mind are the most essential ingredients in the cup of 
happiness. The air of our winters is dry and bracing. 
When snow falls it usually remains on the ground several 
months, forming an excellent road either for travelling, 
business or pleasure. 

"The rivers are securely wedged with ice, rendering 
many portions of the country more accessible at that sea- 
son than at any other. An excellent opportunity is af- 
forded to the younger portion of the community for inno- 
cent amusements— sleighing, sliding downhill, and skating 
^amusements highly exhilarating, and promotive alike of 
health and happiness. These observations have been 
made because a greater value is often set on a mild south- 
ern climate, in reference to its capacity in affording the 
means of happiness or of health, than it really possesses.'^ 

We have always made it a point to inquire of new set- 
tlers in Wisconsin how they liked the climate, and the 
answer invariably was, that it was far superior to that of 
the States they had left — whether Eastern, Middle or 
Southern. One emigrant says: — "As the result of my 
observations, I would state briefly — an^Z in this I do but 
repeat a common sentiment — that I would much rather 



34 CLIMATE. 

spend a winter in Wisconsin than in New York or Penn- 
sylvania. True, the weather is cold ; but it is of that set- 
tled, steady, clear character, which we here call ' bracing 
iveatlier. ' No damp winds, no sloppy thaw, no uncom- 
fortable rains, but day after day the same unbroken field 
of snow, the same clear, bright sunshine, the same untrou- 
bled air. Winter here holds undisputed sway ; it is not 
a muddled mixture of all seasons, in which the breezy 
spring, the clear autumn, the sunny summer and the rigor- 
ous winter mingle and mix, and come and go together. 
You will understand the force of this distinction when I 
tell you that the first fall of snow in Wisconsin remains on 
the ground during the whole winter without a crust ; so 
free is the air from that dampness which, in other coun- 
tries, produce it. Who among you has not noticed the 
penetrating character of dampness in cold — its chilling, 
searching qualities ; or who, on the other hand, has not 
gone abroad on days of intense coldness, but when the air 
was dry and pure, and felt elastic, buoyant, and comfort- 
able. Such is a Wisconsin winter. I suffered less from 
the cold while here, than I have many times in Pennsyl- 
vania when the thermometer stood much higher. " 

The general opinion of physicians is, that consumption, 
that fearful scourge of the human race, which desolates so 
many thousand happy homes yearly in the Atlantic States, 
is not a disease of this climate ; where it occurs here, it 
being almost universally in those who have brought it with 
them, or in whom it is in a marked degree hereditary. It 
is also a singular fact, that persons suffering from asthma, 
or "phthisic," have been greatly relieved, or, in some in ■ 
stances, permane!itly cured, by a residence in this climate. 

From a table of the last United States census, (an im- 
partial report, of course,) we obtain the following facts. 
This table gives the relative health, increase and deaths 



CLIMATE. 35 

among the inhabitants of the several States, and illustrates 
that the number of deaths in ratio to the number of living 
is : in the State of Maine, 1 to 77 ; Vermont, 1 to 100 ; 
Connecticut, 1 to 64 ; Illinois, 1 to 13 ; Iowa, 1 to 94 ; 
Wisconsin, 1 to 105; — and this is not only a fair com- 
parison among the above-named States, but, proportionate 
to the population, exhibits fewer deaths in Wisconsin than 
in any State in the Union. 



CHAPTER III. 

AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES, SOIL, ETC. 

Wisconsin oflFcrs more and better inducements for agri- 
culture than any other country can boast, and, owing to its 
geological formations, presents a great variety of soils. By 
the late census, and other data, it may be safe and fair to 
calculate that there are about one and a half millions acres 
of cultivated land in the State, which, as now occupied, 
constitutes about 50,000 farms, more or less tilled. 

Besides this one and a half millions acres of improved 
land, there is, within the area of the State, above 
30,000,000 acres of land, of which at least 20,000,000 is 
suitable to be converted into productive and pleasant farms 
— enough land to make two millions additional farms — 
waiting for occupants, and may be purchased at low prices, 
ranging from $1.25 to $60 per acre. 

In regard to the value of improved lands in the new 
States, the same report shows that the average value is : ia 
Illinois, $7.99; in Iowa, $6.09; in Texas, $1.09; and la 
Wisconsin it is $9.58 — a very fair show for a young State. 

And by looking carefully through the tables, we find 
that the average value of products per acre exceeds that 
of the other States named, in about the same proportion 
that the land exceeds theirs per acre in value. Draw a 
line from Manitowoc to Portage, thence directly to the 
Falls of St. Croix, the farming lands lying south of this 
line, and comprising nearly one-half the State, are not 
equalled, in all respects, as farming lands, in any State 

(36) 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 37 

of the Union ; on which an industrious farmer can raise 
from 30 to 50 bushels of wheat, or from 50 to 80 bushels 
of corn to the acre. Xorth of this, a belt of hard timber 
extends east and west 150 miles on the latitude of Stevens 
Point — from 50 to 100 miles in width. The soil of this 
region is fertile, but the timber is its present wealth. Un- 
like the prairies, building material for fences is convenient, 
and no country produces better or more wheat — the staple 
crop. The indigenous and cultivated grasses flourish ad- 
mirably, and, combined with numerous streams, aiford the 
best facility for grazing. This peculiarity (abundance of 
water) pervades the entire State, and presents inducements 
for cattle-growing not found in the other prairie countries, 
where running water is found at distances too great for 
cattle. 

The prairies of Wisconsin are not as extensive as those 
of Illinois, Iowa or Minnesota, but, as they are skirted and 
belted by timber, are adapted to immediate and profitable 
occupation. The soil of the prairies is a rich, dark vege- 
table mould, varying from two to eight feet in depth, ca- 
pable of producing, in the greatest profusion, anything 
which will grow in these latitudes, and inexhaustible in its 
fertility. For centuries, the successive natural crops, un- 
touched by the scythe, have accumulated matter on the 
surface-soil to such an extent, that a long succession, 
even of exhausting crops, will not materially impoverish 
the land. Dr. Owen says : " The dark mould which pre- 
vails over a large proportion of Wisconsin, so rich in 
genie, has proved itself an excellent and productive soil, 
especially adapted to the culture of every species of culi- 
nary vegetables and small grain, and producing, probably, 
as good Indian corn as the State of New York, or any 
other State of the same latitude. 

'' The power of absorption of these lands is generally in 
4 



38 AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 

proportion to their amount of genie and the lightness of 
the soil. In general, the more finely the parts of a soil are 
divided, the better they absorb water. 

"This is an important item to the cultivator. Lands 
possessing this power in a considerable degree, readily 
absorb the dew in dry weather ; and in wet weather do not 
suffer the superfluous rain to accumulate on the surface. 

"A striking feature in the character of the Wisconsin 
soils, as an analysis shows, is the entire absence, in most 
of the specimens, of clay, and the large proportion of silex. 
This silex, however, does not commonly show itself here in 
its usual form — that of a quartzose sand. It appears as a 
fine, almost impalpable, siliceous powder, frequently oc- 
curring in concreted lumps that resemble clay ; and, in- 
deed, it was often reported to me incorrectly as clay — an 
error ultimately detected by analysis. 

"This alm<5st impalpable powder, the chief constituent 
and almost sole residuum of the Wisconsin soils, is so highly 
comminuted that, when examined under the microscope, 
for the most part its atoms present no crystalline or even 
granular appearance. 

'' This fine siliceous residuum, after being boiled with 
strong aqua regia, lost but ten per cent., of which but five 
per cent, was alumina. 

" This absence of any material per centage of clay in the 
soils under consideration, prevents the rolling lands from 
washing away ; and it imparts to the streams a crystal 
clearness, which even after heavy rains is hardly disturbed. 
The appearance of these transparent rivulets, flowing over 
a soil which, when moistened by rain, is often of an inky 
blackness, arrests by its singularity, the eye of a stranger. 

"Whether the lack of clay in the Wisconsin soils will 
render them less durable may be doubted. A coarse sandy 
soil, the open pores of which suffer the rain to percolate, 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 39 

carrying with it the nutritive genie from the surface, re- 
quires an admixture of clay before it can become rich and 
durable ; but the minute-grained siliceous powder of this 
district forms a species of soil entirely different from the 
above — one which, without any such admixture, retains 
moisture and genie in much perfection. 

" I believe it to be peculiarly adapted to the growth of 
the sugar beet, which flourishes best in a loose, fertile 
mould, and which has of late become, in some European 
countries, an important article of commerce. It is esti- 
mated that the amount of beet sugar manufactured in 
France during the year 1840 was 100,000,000 pounds, and 
in Prussia and Germany 30,000,000 pounds. In the west- 
ern part of Michigan, in as northern a latitude, and in a 
climate similar to that of Wisconsin, 240,000 pounds are 
reported by the papers of that State (how accurately I 
know not) to have been manufactured the same year." 

In regard to the soil of the mineral regions, Dr Owens 
also says: — "It is a common, and usually a correct re- 
mark, that mineral regions are barren and unproductive. 
'If a stranger,' as Buckland has well expressed it in the 
opening of his Bridgewater Treatise, ' if a stranger, land- 
ing at the extremity of England, were to traverse the whole 
of Cornwall and the north of Devonshire, and, crossing to 
St. David's, should make the tour of all North Wales, and 
passing thence through Cumberland, by the Isle of Man, 
to the southwestern shore of Scotland, should proceed 
either by the hilly region of the border counties, or along 
the Grampians, to the German Ocean, he would conclude, 
from such a journey of many hundred miles, that Britain 
was a thinly-peopled, sterile region, whose principal inha- 
bitants were miners and mountaineers. ' 

"Not so the traveller through the mining districts of 
Wisconsin. These afford promise of liberal reward, no 



40 AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 

less to the husbandman than to the miner ; and a chemical 
examination of the soils gives assurance that the promise 
will be amply fulfilled. 

"I may add, that I know of no country in the world, 
with similar mineral resources, which can lay claim to a 
soil as fertile and as well adapted to the essential purposes 
of agriculture."' 

In this work, the writer wishes more particularly to 
call the attention of settlers to the northern part of Wis- 
consin. For years, valuable lands in this part of the State 
were offered for sale at the Government price ($1.25 per 
acre), but with very rare exceptions, here and there, they 
remained without purchasers. This neglected region con- 
tains some of our most valuable agricultural lands, and now 
offers greater inducements to settlers than any other part. 
The new railroads, already commenced from Milwaukee, 
through our eastern and western borders, to Lake Supe- 
rior, have received from Government over 2,000,000 acres 
of these lands to aid in their construction, and while they 
open the country to agriculturists, will doubtless follow the 
example of the Illinois Central Railroad, in offering their 
lands, on easy terms and on long credits, to actual settlers. 
Let it he remembered, that there are several millions of 
acres in this part of the State open to pre-emption. 

A great mistake prevails in the Northern and Eastern 
States among those who are preparing to come to Wis- 
consin. Congress granted a large amount of lands to rail- 
roads, and all the Land Offices have been closed, so that 
no lands can be sold ; and, therefore, settlers abroad infer 
that they cannot get land, except what they purchase at 
second-hand of those who secured their land before the 
closing of the Offices. 

1st. We wish to inform every one, that the closing of 
^ Geological Explorations in Wisconsin. 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 41 

the Land Offices does not prejudice the rights of per- 
emption in the least. 

2d. The Railroad Grant, in its terms, respects all pre- 
emptlions made, up to the time the roads are actually 
LOCATED. After the location, pre-empters are excluded 
from pre-empting odd-numbered sections only, within 
six miles of either side of the roads as located. 

Sd. The closing of the Land Offices operates as a 
benefit to the poor man; for it extends the time icithin 
which he is required to j^rove up and ^y ay for his land. 

4th. The closing of the Land Offices was intended to 
operate in those districts only where large bodies of public 
lands luere subject to private entry. It was done to pre- 
vent speculators from taking up all the public lands along 
the line of the proposed roads, to the exclusion of the 
actual settler. We repeat, the right of pre-emption is not 
thereby affected until the roads are actually located. 

The Act of Congress says, that the railroads sliall have 
every alternate section of an odd number ; that is, Nos. 
1, 3, 5, 7, &c., for six miles each side of their tracks, of 
the land not sold. Therefore, all the sections of an even 
number are virtually open to actual settlers, because settlers 
are perfectly safe ; and at the land sales no speculator or 
other person will bid against a settler, and he can get his 
land at Government prices ; but the Government price for 
all lands within six miles of the railroads will be $2.50 per 
acre. If they wish to go farther off than six miles from 
the proposed railroad lines, then the price of the lands will 
be $1.25 per acre. 

How soon the railroad companies will get through 

selecting their lands, and the offices again be open, no one 

can tell — possibly not before the close of the summer. The 

Government will give at least two months' public notice 

of the time of sale. There is not the least doubt but that 
4 * 



42 AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 

now is the best opportunity that will ever offer itself in the 
West to the laboring man of small means, taking into con- 
sideration timber, climate, and soil. 

We would again say to those who wish to actually locate 
upon and improve the soil, Noiv is the time to make a 
'' claim. ''^ Do not be induced to delay settling here until 
a few hundred dollars have been added to your earnings, 
with the belief that it will give you a better start. You 
can do better now with two hundred dollars than you will 
be able to do, two years hence, with one thousand. These 
land^; are daily increasing in value, and those who would 
advance with them should embrace this '' golden oppor- 
tunity." 

The following description of the lands in the valley of 
the Chippewa river, is from the pen of an intelligent and 
observing traveller, who recently made a personal exami- 
nation of that country. These lands are open to settlers 
at Government price ; in fact, all lands lying in the northern 
part of the State. 

"The soil, for the most part, is a deep rich sand loam, 
and the face of the country very much as we have pictured 
the Hunting Parks of Old England. About every three 
miles, there is a succession of small streams starting from 
the ridges, half a dozen miles back, and making straight- 
way to the Chippewa. The ground between is nearly 
level, and interspersed with ' gems of prairie, ' * oak open- 
ings,' and timber, with here and there specks of hay marsh, 
just enough to meet the wants of new settlers. In short, 
the country is about as near right as any jolly husbandman 
could ask from the hands of Nature. There is no fact 
which gives more value to these lands, than the general 
healthfulness of that portion of the country in which they 
are situated. Well watered, possessing a pure and dry 
atmosphere, with no local causes to produce fever, ague, 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 43 

or sickness, in any of the numerous forms often exhibited 
in the more southerly parts of the Mississippi valley, it is 
undoubtedly as healthy a region as can be found on the 
continent. It may be supposed, by some, that these lands 
are too far north to be well adapted to agricultural pur- 
suits. The supposition is entirely erroneous. None of the 
lands are farther north than the northern parts of the 
States of Vermont and New York, nor as far as a large 
part of Maine, New Hampshire, and nearly the whole of 
Canada, while the more southerly portions of them are in 
the latitude of the southern part of Vermont and central 
New York. But it is well known that latitude is not alone 
the index of climate. London is in latitude 51° 30', the 
same as the latitude of the upper or southern end of Hud- 
son's Bay, and of Queen Charlotte's Sound, on the Pacific. 
Paris is in the latitude of the north shore of Lake Superior 
and of the Pembina settlement. Florence, where it is 
almost perpetual summer, is in the latitude of Sheboygan 
and of Portland, Maine, while Berlin is further north than 
a large portion of the coast of Labrador. But, on the 
American continent, it is well known that the climate on 
the Pacific coast is several degrees milder than on the At- 
lantic, The same causes operate to produce the same 
result as we recede from the Atlantic and approach the 
Pacific. The isothennal line is continually bearing north 
of latitudinal lines ; and it is well known that the climate 
of St. Paul, in Minnesota, in about latitude 45°, is as mild 
during the winter months as that of Massachusetts and 
central New York. St. Paul and Buffalo, Hudson and 
Albany, Chippewa Falls and Rochester, are isothermal." 

All the arable lands in the area above described will be 
intersected by the St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad, 
and are peculiarly adapted to the growth of wheat, oats, 
barley, buckwheat, potatoes, and all other esculent roots. 



44 AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 

Indian corn, also — especially of the yellow flint variety — 
is produced in great perfection. The whole country is 
excellently adapted to grazing. It is well watered by nu- 
merous springs and small creeks, of pure limpid water; 
and small transparent lakes, with picturesque shores, are 
found in many places, which, as well as the creeks, abound 
with fish. The raising of cattle and sheep in this region 
will prove to the farmer a profitable business, and, if viewed 
solely with reference to its advantages for agricultural pur- 
suits, there can be no reason why, when it shall be supplied 
with railroad facilities, it will not become as densely peo- 
pled as any part of the State.' 

Every description of husbandry suitable to the latitude 
may be successfully prosecuted. The difficulties experi- 
enced in the Eastern, or in Western timbered States, in 
bringing lands under cultivation, are unknown here ; the 
soil is easily turned over, at the rate of two acres to two 
and a half a day, by a heavy team of horses, or two yoke 
of oxen, or it may be contracted to be worked, at from $2 
to $3 per acre ; and an active practical man can readily 
cultivate ten acres here as easily as one in the Eastern or 
Middle States, taking them as they run, while the yield per 
acre will be infinitely greater. 

Wisconsin is one of the largest grain-producing States 
of the Union. As an example, the statistics of the follow- 
ing counties, for the year 1850, may be cited. 

Population. No. Acres cleared. No. Farms. Bush .Wheat. 

Milwaukee 39,077 32,623 985 60,096 

AVaukeslia 19,174 104,439 1,703 331,156 

Racine 14,973 64,338 971 281,149 

Kenosha 10,732 60,938 914 318,051 

These four counties, with a population of 83,956, had 
1 Report of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Co. 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 45 

for exportation not less than 500,000 bushels of wheat, 
which, at 50 cents per bushel, would be $250,000. Be- 
sides, there were large quantities of Indian corn, oats and 
barley raised. Considerable attention has been lately at- 
tracted to flax, and the quantity raised the same year, iu 
these counties, was 58,304 pounds. 

It must not be supposed that the farmers of Wisconsin 
have been turning their attention exclusively to grain ; they 
have also engaged in the business of stock raising, of the 
dairy, and of wool growing. In the above-mentioned 
counties, the quantity of sheep and wool raised, as reported 
in the census, was as follows : 

Sheep. Lbs. of Wool. 

Milwaukee 4,356 8,330 

Waukesha 12,430 26,042 

Racine 10,093 20,223 

Kenosha 12,767 33,439 

A large number of sheep were brought into Wisconsin 
during the year 1851, from Ohio and Michigan.. The 
produce of wool for the year 1853 may safely be estimated 
at 175,000 pounds, and in 1857 the united products of 
these four counties will not be less than 700,000 pounds. 

These counties may be taken as a fair basis, in order to 
form an estimate for the balance of the State. If we take 
the estimate of the census of 1850 — 20,000 farms as un- 
der cultivation, the amount realized by farmers on wool and 
wheat alone would be, at present prices, nearly $3,000,000. 
But when we consider that the population then was 
305,538, and now it is about 1,000,000, it is manifest that 
no correct estimate can be made, further than that the 
agricultural products have increased in the same ratio as 
the population. 

The steady and exclusive prosecution of agriculture on 



46 AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 

the fertile soil of the mineral districts, has the advantage 
of an active home market and ready pay. There are large 
tracts of the very finest lands in these districts which have 
been neglected, from the absorbing nature of the mining 
business, and may be purchased at very low rates. In 
proportion to the growth of the towns and villages, the 
demand for the products of the soil increases, presenting a 
remunerative home market to the farmer. The surplus of 
his corn, wheat, oats, &c., command fair rates at the near- 
est railroad depot, as soon as delivered. On some of these 
lands it is not uncommon to raise from 80 to 100 bushels 
of corn to the acre, of wheat 40 to 60 bushels, and every 
kind of vegetables in the greatest abundance. The price 
of wheat during the year 1856, was, on an average, $1.25 
per bushel. At these prices, is it any wonder that the far- 
mers in Wisconsin are so rapidly accumulating wealth ; or 
that, with such inducements to agriculture, so many are 
flocking here every year ? 

Let every farmer who has to tug and toil on the sterile 
and rocky soil of New England, and some of the worn out 
Southern States, to support his family, judge for himself, 
whether it is better to emigrate to Wisconsin, or stay where 
he is ; whether it is better to struggle for existence, and 
feel the cold grasp of poverty, or roll in plenty and live at 
ease. 

Let those who reside in cities, and cannot find profitable 
employment, come here, and raise their food out of the 
bosom of the earth. Thousands have made the experi- 
ment, and to-day are among the wealthiest and most re- 
spected of our citizens. 

We might present to our readers the testimony of hun- 
dreds of farmers, in regard to their experience, the capa- 
bility of the soil, and the amount raised to the acre, but 
our limited space forbids. In the second part of this work, 



AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES. 4t 

on Lake Superior, will be found some interesting reports 
from farmers in the northern part of the State, bordering 
on the lake. 

Persons desirous of settling here should not form their 
opinions of the capability of Wisconsin, in an agricultural 
point of view, upon the figures given in the census reports 
of 1850, as if they furnished a fair criterion by which to 
judge. It must be borne in mind, that since those statis- 
tics were made up, nearly five hundred miles of railroad 
have been built in the State ; that its population has in- 
creased from 305,538, to at least 1,000,000 ; that the num- 
ber of acres now under cultivation is at least double that 
of 1850 ; that all the recent improvements in agricultural 
implements are in general use ; and farmers stimulated to 
industry by the late unprecedented high prices. They 
also must not forget that, with all this increase of popula- 
tion, hardly one-fourth of the arable lands of the State are 
under cultivation. The conclusions drawn from the census 
reports of 1850, would be of the most fallacious character, 
and do great injustice to the resources of our noble State. 



CHAPTER lY. 

GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN — ROCKS — LEAD — COPPER — ZINC — 
IRON — BUILDING STONE — ANTIQUITIES. 

The greatest source of wealth of the State of Wisconsin 
is iindonbtedly its vast mineral possessions. The mines on 
the south shore of Lake Superior are believed to be equal 
in richness and extent to those of Michigan, which pro- 
duced, in 1856, upwards of ten million pounds of copper, 
and twenty thousand tons of iron. Part of this region 
has been recently explored, and the most incredible quan- 
tities of copper, mixed with silver, have been found ; also 
zinc, in vast deposits, among the copper. Wisconsin is 
equally rich in iron ; but, like the zinc, it is a mere drug. 
Indeed, for some unaccountable reason, it is thought better 
to import from England into this country millions of dol- 
lars' worth yearly, when we have literally mountains of it 
here in every direction, and of a much superior quality. 
As the northern part, bordering on the lake, is now being 
rapidly settled, new discoveries are made daily, and it is a 
matter of great importance that the State should order a 
new Geological Survey, to determine the extent of its min- 
eral wealth, for the benefit of the agricultural interests, by 
disclosing the different characters of the soil, and their 
adaptability to certain crops The lead region of Wis- 
consin contains mines which are supposed to be inex- 
haustible, and decidedly the richest in the known world ; 
it is confined principally to the southwestern part of the 
State. Many other minerals are also found, and good 

(48) 



ROCKS. 49 

marble and building stone are abundant in almost every 
part. 

The mineral treasures that underlie our soil are, as yet, 
but in the infancy of their development ; we are situated 
at the head of the two great natural channels of internal 

navigation, which penetrate to the heart of the continent 

the Mississippi on the one hand, connecting us with the 
Gulf of Mexico ; and the Lakes upon the other, leading to 
the Atlantic. By each of these routes, the greater portion 
of the produce of our mineral districts finds its way to 
market. 

There are several very accurate and complete descrip- 
tions of the geology of Wisconsin, and, instead of attempt- 
ing to give an account of it, I will embody, in this part of 
my work, the official reports of Dr. Owen, already pub- 
lished, which include a large part of the State. My own 
observations of the country, geologically, being very cur- 
sory and partial, and the survey of Dr. Owen, under the 
orders of Government, furnishing a very satisfactory de- 
scription of the country, I subjoin it entire. 

" Throughout the Western States, generally, the second- 
ary formation prevails, covered up in various locations, 
sometimes to a considerable depth, by recent alluvial and 
diluvial deposits. 

" This secondary series of rocks comprehends various sub- 
divisions of distinct character, and invariable succession, 
which, in their turn, have been again subdivided. 

" Of these groups, the mountain limestone particularly 
claims our attention, as almost all the rocks of Wisconsin 
are referable to that division. 

" In this State these subdivisions generally vary in thick- 
ness from one hundred to one thousand feet, with the ex- 
ception of the cliff limestone, which, in some districts, is 
5 



60 GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

hardly distinguishable, and, in general, does not exceed 
one hundred feet in thickness. 

" Now, this cliflf limestone, so sparingly developed else- 
where, swells, in the Wisconsin lead region, into the most 
remarkable, most important, and most bulky member of 
the group. It attains to a thickness of upward of five 
hundred and fifty feet, while the underlying blue limestone 
(which, in Ohio, is usually from eight hundred to one thou- 
sand feet in thickness) shrinks, in many places, to less than 
one hundred feet, and, in others, seems wholly wanting ; 
while, at the same time, the black slate, commonly found 
above the cliff limestone, seems also deficient. 

' ' The general geological character of the country ex- 
plored may, then, be thus briefly summed up. It belongs 
to that class of rocks called, by recent geologists, secondary, 
and, by others, occasionally included in the transition 
series. It belongs, further, to a division of the class of 
rocks described, in Europe, as the mountain limestone, or, 
sometimes, as the carboniferous, metalliferous, or encrin- 
ital limestone. And it belongs, yet more especially, to a 
subdivision of this group, known popularly, where it oc- 
curs in the West, as the cliflf limestone. 

** This last is the rock formation in which the lead, cop- 
per, iron, and zinc, of the region under consideration, are 
almost exclusively found ; and its unusual development, 
doubtless, much conduces to the extraordinary mineral 
riches of this favored State. 

** In the northern portion of the district surveyed, an 
interesting and somewhat uncommon feature in the geology 
of Western America presents itself. I refer to the strata 
(of considerable depth) which crop out along a narrow 
strip of the northern boundary-line of thi.s district, and 
which are chiefly observable in the bluffs on both sides of 



LEAD. 51 

the Wisconsin river, whence (Schoolcraft and others say) 
they extend north even to the Falls of St. Anthony. 

"The actual dip of the rocks throughout the district, 
according to the observations made by Dr. Locke, is from 
nine to ten feet per mile, but it is occasionally much 
greater. 

'' The importance of observations on the dip of the rocks, 
forming, as they do, the materials to calculate the thickness 
of each stratum at any given spot, is very great. Indeed, 
such observations are indispensable, before an accurate esti- 
mate can be formed of the value and extent of a mineral 
tract. They indicate, with much fidelity, the depth to 
which, at different points, a productive vein of ore is likely 
to extend. 

*'lead mines. 

"The lead region lies, as will be remarked, chiefly in 
Wisconsin, including, however, a strip of about eight town- 
ships of land in Iowa ; and including, also, about ten 
townships in the northwestern corner of Illinois. The 
portion of this lead region in Wisconsin includes about 
sixty-two townships. 

*' This lead region is, in general, well watered ; namely, 
by the Peccatonica, Apple, Fever, Platte and Grand 
rivers, the head waters of Blue river and Sugar creek : all 
these streams being tributaries of the Mississippi. 

" The northern boundary of the Wisconsin lead region 
is nearly coincident with the southern boundary-line of the 
blue limestone, where it fairly emerges to the surface. No 
discoveries of any importance have been made after reach- 
ing that formation ; and when a mine is sunk through the 
cliff limestone to the blue limestone beneath, the lodes of 
lead shrink into insignificance, and no longer return to the 
miner a profitable reward for his labor. 



52 GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

"It will also be remarked, that the designated lead 
region is almost exclusively confined to the northern half 
of the cliff limestone formation of Wisconsin, which por- 
tion is occupied by its middle and lower beds. The upper 
beds (lying in the southern portion of the district) do not, 
as already intimated, furnish productive veins of lead ore. 
The crevices in these upper strata seem to be less numer- 
ous, and either empty, or filled with iron ore (hydrated 
brown oxide), or calcareous spar (crystallized carbonate 
of lime), to the almost entire exclusion of veins of lead. 

"All the valuable deposits of lead ore, which have as 
yet been discovered, occur either in fissures or rents in the 
cliff rock, or else are found imbedded in the recent depo- 
sits which overlie these rocks. These fissures vary in 
thickness from a wafer to even fifty feet ; and many of 
them extend to a very great, and at present unknown 
depth. 

"Upon the whole, a review of the resources and capa- 
bilities of this lead region, taken in connection with its 
statistics (in so far as it was possible to collect these), in- 
duces me to say, with confidence, that ten thousand miners 
could find profitable employment within its confines. 

" If we suppose each of these to raise daily one hundred 
and fifty pounds of ore, during six months of each year 
only, they would produce annually upwards of one hundred 
and fifty million pounds of lead — more than is now fur- 
nished by the entire mines of Europe, those of Great 
Britain included. 

" This estimate, founded (as those who have perused the 
foregoing pages will hardly deny) upon reasonable data, 
presents, in a striking point of view, the intrinsic value and 
commercial importance of the country upon which I am 
reporting — emphatically the lead region of Northern 
America. 



COPPER. 53 

" It is, so far as my reading or experience extend, deci- 
dedly the richest in the known world. 

"copper ore. 

"The copper ore of Wisconsin forms an item in its 
mineral wealth, which would be considered of great im- 
portance, and would attract much attention, but for the 
superior richness and value of the lead, the great staple 
of the State. 

"This ore occupies, in the district under examination, 
the same geological position as the lead ore ; originating 
in the fissures of the cliff limestone. Discoveries of cop- 
per ore have, indeed, been made on a sloping hill-side near 
Mineral Point, within three or four feet of the surface ; and 
was there found disseminated and imbedded in an ochreous 
earth.' But, on following this deposit to the opposite side 
of the ravine (on section twenty-two, township five, range 
three east of the fourth principal meridian), the copper ore 
was traced into a crevice, and a regular vein has there been 
worked, to the depth of thirty or forty feet. The pieces 
of copper ore raised on this spot commonly weighed from 
a few ounces to ten or twelve pounds ; and one mass thencQ 
procured was estimated at five hundred weight. 

"The course of this copper vein is from southeast to 
northwest ; and if this line be continued either way, from 
the discoveries at Mineral Point, it will strike, almost ex- 
actly, the discoveries of copper ore northwest on Blue 
river, and southeast on the Peccatonica — a proof that the 
copper ore is not a superficial and vagrant deposit, but 

1 This earth frequently contains particles, more or less numerous, 
of copper ore, which is then popularly termed "gozzin," and em- 
ployed as a flux in the copper furnaces. The gozzin of Wisconsin 
yields, by analysis, from six to nine per cent, of pure copper — a 
large per centage for such ore. 
5* 



64 GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

exists in veins of uniform bearing ; and that these veins 
are continuous, and, in all probability, extensive. 

" The copper ore of this region compares very favorably 
with that of Cornwall. An analysis of a selected specimen 
of the best working ore of these mines, and of three aver- 
age specimens of Wisconsin ore, showed that the latter 
contains from a fifteenth to a third more of copper than the 
former. 

" The Wisconsin copper veins may rank among the most 
important that have yet been discovered in the limestone 
formation. 

" Finally, the Wisconsin copper ore derives additional 
value in consequence of being found in the vicinity of, and 
often in the same mine as, productive veins of zinc ore." 

The richest deposits of copper as yet discovered, are in 
the northern part of the State ; a much fuller description 
of them will be found in the second part of this work, on 
Lake Superior. 

It may be added, as an additional fact, whereby to esti- 
mate the value of the Wisconsin copper, that, in some of 
the European mines, "the ore does not contain above three 
per cent, of pure copper, and yet it pays for working;" 
also, some of the Cornwall mines are worked profitably, at 
a depth of more than two thousand feet "from the grass,'* 
as the phrase there is. What a contrast these mines pre- 
sent to those of Wisconsin, many of which lie between fifty 
and one hundred feet from the surface. Here we have 
inexhaustible beds of the finest ore in the world, which 
have been proved, on analysis, to be superior to the English 
copper; besides, the miners say "they can afford to raise 
copper ore at the same price as lead, namely, from one and 
a half to two cents a pound;" but as it requires much 
more capital and skill than to smelt lead, they have hith- 
erto been prevented. In the means of transportation we 



ZINC. 55 

are not surpassed by any in the world ; a short distance of 
from five to ten miles will convey the ore to the shipping 
port. It is a burning disgrace to our country that so 
many thousand pounds of copper are yeai^ly imported 
from England, and other parts of Europe, when we have 
such unlimited quantities at our own doors. There is 
copper enough in Wisconsin to supply the United States 
for years to come, and to spare. All that is icanting is 
capital and men to develop its rich resources. 

**ZINC ORE. 

*'This ore, found in Wisconsin, usually occurs in the 
same fissures with the lead. It is chiefly the electric cala- 
mine — the carbonate of zinc of the mineralogist. Though 
a solid ore, it has an ochreous, earthy aspect, often resem- 
bling the cellular substance of the bone : hence it is fami- 
liarly known among the miners by the name of ' dry bones.' 

"At some of the 'diggins' large quantities of this car- 
bonate of zinc can be procured. Thousands of tons are 
now lying in various locations on the surface, rejected as 
worthless ; indeed, as a nuisance. It is known to but a 
few of the miners as a zinc ore at all. An analysis of this 
ore proves it to be a true carbonate of zinc, containing 
forty-five per cent, of the pure metal. 

" Sulphuret of zinc (sometimes called blende, and, by 
the English miner, 'black-jack') is also abundant iu the 
Wisconsin mines. It contains from fifty-five to sixty-five 
per cent, of zinc, but is more difficult of reduction than the 
calamine. 

" Sheet zinc is becoming an article of considerable de- 
mand in the market, for culinary purposes, and as a cover- 
ing for valuable buildings, instead of lead. But the chief 
consumption of this metal is in making brass, well known 
to be a compound of copper and zinc. 



56 GEOIOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

' ' Large quantities, both of copper and zinc, are now 
imported from Europe into the United States, to supply 
the continually increasing demand for brass. It is not im- 
probable that the district now under consideration might 
furnish of both metals a sufficient amount, at least for 
many years to come, to supply the entire United States 
with brass of home produce and manufacture. 

" Of zinc, at least, there is assuredly a sufficient supply, 
not only for that purpose, but also for exportation. All 
the zinc now produced in Great Britain is trifling in quan- 
tity, and quite insufficient for the demand : so that a large 
quantity is imported annually into that island, chiefly from 
Germany and Belgium. The importation of zinc into 
England, in the year 1833, exceeded six millions and a 
half of pounds ; a fact which may give us an idea of the 
importance of this metal as an article of commerce. 
Among the productive mineral resources of Wisconsin, the, 
at present despised, zinc ore may claim no contemptible 
rank. 

"iron ore. 

" The iron ore of Wisconsin is of excellent quality, and 
in unlimited abundance. I explored, a few years since, in 
company with Professor Troost, Geologist of Tennessee, 
the iron mines of that State, which already furnish iron to 
a considerable portion of the Western States. And though 
I have seen no proof that iron exists in Wisconsin in de- 
posits as extensive as in Tennessee, yet the locations of 
iron ore are numerous, and the quality of it, in general, is 
as good. 

" In some of the townships, on the Wisconsin river, iron 
ore was found scattered in innumerable fragments over the 
entire surface, and of a quality so rich as to be crystallized 
in much perfection. The reports and specimens from that 



IRON. 5T 

portion of the district induce me to believe that iron ore 
can be found there, on the surface alone, sufficient to sup- 
ply several iron furnaces for years to come."' In relation 
to the Magnetic Iron Beds of the Penokie Range, border- 
ing on Lake Superior, he says: "The most easterly ap- 
pearance of magnetic iron which I observed, was in fissile 
black slate, about four miles west of the Montreal Trail, 
along which the Section No. 4. W. is made. About four 
miles along the strike of the beds, southwest by west, the 
bed was seen by Mr. Randall, in 1848, in the Fourth Prin- 
cipal Meridian, Township 44^ north, eighteen miles from 
the lake. We may with confidence pronounce it to be a 
continuous bed from the meridian westward to Lac des 
Anglais. Its thickness, richness, and value, vary very 
much ; but we found it more or less developed, whenever 
we crossed the range, and could get a view of tlie rock. 
The bed of magnetic iron ore south of Lac des Anglais is 
of extraordinary thickness — twenty-five to sixty feet. The 
proportion of iron and quartz is very variable, but the 
separation of them by mechanical means would, in gen.eral, 
not be difficult. There are many places in the mountain, 
west of Bad river, which present more than fifty feet of 
quartz and iron, in about equal proportions. It should, 
however, be borne in mind, that the whole region is not 
only covered so thickly with timber that no distant views 
can be had without climbing trees, but the drift often con- 
ceals the rocks, over a large proportion, even of the ele- 
vated ridges. Where the west branch of Tyler's Pork 
crosses the chain, Mr. Beesley found the southerly face of 
the uplifts well charged with a rich, heavy ore, showing 
thirty, fifty, and seventy feet, with iron predominating over 
quartz. All the specimens we saw were of the black mag- 
netic oxide, without any of the red. The productive yield 

1 These ores of iron yield from 40 to 60 per cent, of the metal. 



58 * GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

of such an ore can only be determined by trial, in properly 
constructed furnaces; but judging of our specimens - by 
weight, they will afford fifty to sixty per cent, of the metal. 
The analysis of one specimen yielded over sixty-six per 
cent. For present use a supply of ore may be obtained 
from the rubbish, at the foot of the uplifts, in blocks and 
pieces, already detached from the cliff, and the accompa- 
nying quartz. Where it is not dislodged, it will be neces- 
sary to break the whole, and then assort it. There are 
cases where numerous particles of the oxides, both red and 
black (the protoxide and the peroxide), are disseminated 
through the quartz rock, above and below the regular 
beds. This might be separated by bruising and stamping 
— a process which the whole must undergo, in order to be 
^irofitably wrought in the forges. 

*' There is no limestone yet known in the region to be 
used as a flux ; but there is an abundance of timber and 
water-power. There are certain proportions of iron and 
silex, and of silex and magnesia, that are easily fused. If 
the silex of this ore is not so excessive as to make it 
refractory — or, if in practice, that difficulty can be reme- 
died by the use of magnesian slates, which are abundant — 
these mines may be wrought hereafter at a profit, and rival 
the works of Northern Europe. The magnetic ores of the 
northern part of the State of New York, that have pro- 
duced iron famous for its strength, are also siliceous. The 
magnetic iron-ore is freed of a portion of its silex, at little 
expense, after being bruised, by the application of magnets 
acting on a large scale upon the magnetic particles. The 
part which enters chemically into the ore, forming a sili- 
cate, is not wholly cleared by working, but gives a very 
fine-grained metal, that is peculiarly good for steel. The 
famous Swedish iron is from beds of magnetic ore, embraced 



IRON. 59 

in hornblende rocks, doubtless metamorphic, and analogous 
to those of Bad River. 

"The extensive mines, or rather mountains, of iron-ore 
in Michigan, are also magnetic, and associated with meta- 
morphic slates. These ores are, in some cases, more 
inclined to the peroxide than the Bad River beds ; but 
specimens from the two regions are often so similar, that 
no one would be able to separate them, by the texture, 
color, or weight. The geological associMions are precisely 
alike. In Michigan, as in Wisconsin, the mountains com- 
posed of tilted magnesian, hornblende, and siliceous slates, 
enclose beds of ore. There, as here, on each side of the 
metamorphic range, are igneous rocks, of various ages and 
composition — quartzose, granitic, syenitic, and trappous. 
The ores of that region have attracted attention, and one 
establishment for making blooms, direct from the ore, has 
been in operation more than a year. The iron is remark- 
able for its solidity and toughness, keeping its place better 
than Swedish, and is no more brittle. It possesses the 
quality of being worked into fine cold-drawn wire, and has 
been sought after by an establishment for manufacturing 
wire in Massachusetts. 

" The Iron Ridge, and Ore Beds of Dodge County, have 
attracted much notice of late years, partly on account of 
the interesting and anomalous character of the ore, and 
partly because of the great practical value of a bed thus 
situated. The 'Wisconsin Iron Company' has the credit 
of making the first experiment upon this ore, and, in fact, 
of erecting the first stack furnace in Wisconsin. Their 
works at Maysville, in Dodge County, are driven by water, 
and consume the ore of the ' Iron Ridge,' which is hauled 
on sleds, in winter, about four and a half miles. The 
analysis of the ore taken from Mr. Theodore B. Sterling's 
saw-mill, Section 13, T. 11, north range, 16° east of the 



60 GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN. 

4th Principal Meridian, the course being east and west, 
as given by Professor Cassels, of the Medical College at 
Cleveland, Ohio, indicates over 53 per cent, of iron." 

The richness of the iron veins in this district, and along 
the Lake Superior shores, cannot be correctly known, until 
more mines are opened. But more encouraging and 
numerous surface-indications of an abundant supply of this 
useful metal can hardly offer themselves to the notice of the 
geologist. In a country more thickly settled, and with 
skill and capital to spare, these would speedily cause and 
justify the employment of whole villages of workmen. To 
incidental causes alone, and not to any natural deficiency 
of material, must be attributed the custom of importing 
annually from England, into this country, millions of dollars' 
worth of iron for railroads and other purposes. Enormous 
as is the produce of Great Britain's iron-furnaces, we 
might rival it in America. How little, here in the West at 
least, w^e have hitherto improved our natural resources in 
this branch of commerce, is proved by the thousands of 
tons of rich iron-ore which lie unappropriated and uselessly 
scattered over the State of Wisconsin. 

But this is not only the worst feature of neglect. Strange 
as it may seem, the iron rails laid upon the road to Fond 
du Lac, (the nearest route to these mines,) were brought 
from England, not only across the Atlantic, but twelve 
hundred miles into the interior, and within two hundred 
miles from these rich iron mines, — mines as rich, as pro- 
ductive, and as easily worked, as those in England, from 
which these rails are manufactured and shipped so far, and 
at such enormous and unnecessary expense, and this, too, 
besides the government duties paid. This is infinitely 
more absurd than the importing of bricks from Holland, 
by the early settlers of New York and Albany, and more 
than it would be to bring lumber from Europe to build 



BUILDING-STONE. 61 

houses in the very shadows of the extensive "Wisconsin 
pineries. This iron is of a superior quality, and can be 
worked and furnished along the railway lines at one-half 
the cost of foreign iron. The ore is unsurpassed in rich- 
ness and purity, and can be transported wherever there is 
coal, and there manufactured.^ 

Facts, such as these, call loudly upon Government for 
additional acts of legislation. If English iron of an infe- 
rior quality is allowed to enter our country, and success- 
fully compete with the products of our own mines, sufficient 
duties should be levied upon it to protect us from ruinous 
competition with their large capitalists, who, by the low 
wages they allow their half-starved workmen, can afford to 
sell their iron, even with the present low duties, at the same 
rates as ours can be afforded at the mines. 

In relation to building-stone, Dr. Owen remarks: "I 
was, for a time, in doubt in regard to the value of the 
Wisconsin limestone as a building material. Much of the 
limestone that is taken from the 'diggins' crumbles, also, 
on being exposed to the weather; yet a portion of the 
formation will yield some of the best quarries in the world, 
and several excellent ones are already opened. For 
example, on the Sinsinnewa Mound, at Mineral Point, at 
the Four Lakes, and (but not so good,) on the Peccatonica. 
This excellent building-stone chiefly occurs in the lower 
portion of the upper beds of the cliff limestone, and also 
in the lower beds of the ' Missouri limestone.' It is of a 
beautiful, uniform, light-yellow color — compact, fine- 
grained, sharp-angled, capable of receiving a handsome 
finish, and, if well selected, calculated to endure for ages 
uninjured. It is very readily quarried in square blocks, 
from six inches to a foot in thickness ; can be obtained, 
however, doule or treble that thickness, and of any required 

^ Report of Committee on Public Lands, May, 1856. 
6 



62 EARTHWORK ANTIQUITIES. 

horizontal extent. The labor of quarrying is light, in 
consequence of the rock being exposed in cliffs, so as to 
preclude the necessity of excavation. 

" The Magnesian limestone of Yorkshire, England, 
selected by some of the most experienced geologists in the 
world as the best building-stone in England, is, if not the 
equivalent of the cliff limestone of Wisconsin, a rock very 
closely resembling it. The inference is, that some of the 
strata of the cliff limestone of Wisconsin may be expected 
to furnish building materials of a quality the most superior. " 

In many parts of the State, more recent explorations 
have been made, and quarries of various kinds of marble 
discovered, which promise to be abundant and valuable. 
According to Messrs. Foster and Whitney's report, they 
are found on the Michigamig and Mennomonee Rivers, and 
afford beautiful varieties, whose prevailing color is light 
pink, traversed by veins or seams of deep red. Others are 
blue and dove-colored, beautifully veined. They are sus- 
ceptible of a fine polish, and some on the Mennomonee are 
within navigable distance of New York. 

EARTHWORK ANTIQUITIES. 

Several very singular monuments, or collections of monu- 
ments, are to be seen a few miles from Madison, the capital 
of Wisconsin. These are conical elevations of earth, standing 
on the prairies, or sometimes covered by a grove, of very 
regular shape, usually from five to ten feet in height, and 
from thirty to fifty in diameter, having a circular base. 
They are generally in groups, or collective ranges, some 
half dozen or more being placed in line, in contact or con- 
tiguity at the bases, extending usually from east to west. 
By what people discovered, at what time, or with what 
design, is still involved in doubt. It seems, however, that 
they must have been intended for receptacles for the dead. 



EARTHWORK ANTIQUITIES. 63 

The perfect regularity of shape and direction, forbid the 
idea of a natural formation. The Indians know nothing 
of them, have no traditions, and therefore the inference is 
drawn that they were the work of another race, before the 
tribes now here possessed the country. To our mind, 
however, the inference is not a legitimate one. The Indian 
traditions are of the creation, the deluge, the first appear- 
ance of man and woman upon the earth, great events con- 
nected with the formation and peopling of the \vorld, and 
kindred to them ; but of the extinction of tribes or nations 
by war, pestilence, and the inhumation of bodies slain by 
disease or battle, they transmit, we believe, no story. Had 
these mounds been constructed but a few centuries ago, the 
present descendants of the people who reared them, might 
be now informed of their date or object. 

These mounds were examined by Mr. Locke, who was 
astonished to find that some well-informed persons, in their 
neighborhood, should pretend to dispute their artificial 
origin. He remarks:' ''The same ambition to exercise 
an independent judgment might lead these individuals to 
dispute that the ruins of Herculaneum are artificial ; the 
same argument might be used, that ' they just come so in 
the earth.' I am convinced of the correctness of Mr. 
Taylor's account,^ in which he describes them as being ' in 
the form of animals' effigies.' 

" There is another group of works about eight miles east 
of the Blue Mounds. They are on the great road from 
Prairie du Chien, through Madison, to Lake Michigan — 
a road so decidedly marked by nature, that I presume it 
has been the thoroughfare, 'the trail,' the great 'war-path,' 
erer since the region in the vicinity has been inhabited by 
migrating man, and will continue to be his pathway until 

1 In his report to Dr. Owen. 

2 Silliman's Journal, 34 vol. 



64 EARTHWORK ANTIQUITIES. 

the hills and the rivers exchange their places. " In examin- 
ing some of these works, I did not discover a ditch or 
cavity from which the earth to construct them had been 
taken. They occupy commanding hill-tops and the gentle 
slopes into the valleys, being uniformly raised from a 
smooth and well-formed surface, always above inundation, 
and well guarded from the little temporary currents pro- 
duced from showers. 

"If these figures were originally intended to represent 
animals, they might have been much more distinct and specific 
than they now are. It is obvious that any minute delinea- 
tions must soon be obliterated by the agency of the weather. 
Most of them have the upper part of the head, the ears, or 
antlers, apparently too large — at least it appears so in the 
drawings. They are the favorite resort of badgers, which, 
finding them raised and dry, have selected them for bur- 
rowing ; and it is wonderful that they retain their outline 
so perfectly. But above all the creatures, civilized man 
will obliterate them the most speedily ; and it is much to 
be regretted that the multitude of extraordinary figures, 
raised like embossed ornaments over the whole part of this 
country, could not be accurately measured and delineated 
before they shall be obliterated for ever. I had other 
duties to perform, and was enabled to take these measure- 
ments by an enthusiasm which awoke me in my tent at 
midnight, and assisted me to prepare my breakfast before 
day, and sent me into the cold bleak fields on a November 
morning, to finish the admeasurements of a whole group 
of figures before the usual time of commencing the labors 
of the day. Mr. Taylor has represented the efGgies of 
birds, and one of the human figure, as occurring here ; and 
I am happy, with a full conviction of the general accuracy 
of his representations, to call the reader's attention to his 
interesting paper. 



EARTHWORK ANTIQUITIES. 65 

*' On one of the hills I saw an embankment exactly in 
the form of the cross, as it is usually represented as the 
emblem of Christianity. Some of the surveyors brought in 
sketches of works in the form of birds, with wings expanded, 
and I heard of others in the form of lizards and tortoises. 
From what I have seen, I should think it very probable 
that these forms are to be found. But in order that their 
existence should excite in the public that interest which, 
as relics of ancient history, they really possess, they should 
be so exactly surveyed and depicted that their representa- 
tions can be relied upon with confidence. I object to the 
very careless and imperfect manner in which most of our 
antiquities have been examined, by which they have been 
rather guessed at, than surveyed." 

Other earthworks have been found scattered over differ- 
ent parts of the State. At Aztalan, in Jefferson County, 
there is an ancient fortification, 550 yards long, 275 yards 
wide, with walls four or five feet high, and more than 
twenty feet thick at the base. Another work, resembling 
a man in a recumbent position, 120 feet long, and 30 across 
the trunk, is to be seen near the Blue Mounds ; and one 
resembling a turtle, 56 feet in length, at Prairieville. 
These artificial works are generally without order, but 
sometimes have a systematic arrangement, with fragments 
of pottery often scattered around. Some are so defaced 
as to make it dif&cult to trace the animal resemblance 
referred to, while others are distinctly visible. One is said 
to have been discovered near Cassville, resembling the 
extinct Mastodon. 



6* 



CHAPTER V. 

LUMBER REGIONS OF WISCONSIN — RIVERS — LAKES, ETC. 

Wisconsin possesses peculiar advantages as a lumbering 
country. There are vast pine forests on the Upper Wis- 
consin and its tributaries, the Wolf river, the St. Croix, 
many branches of the Mississippi, and on Lake Superior. 
The other forest trees are spruce, tamarac, cedar, oaks of 
different species, birch, aspen, basswood, hickory, elm, ash, 
hemlock, poplar, sycamore, and sugar maple. The oak 
openings form a pleasing feature in the landscape, and 
comprise a large portion of the finest lands of the State. 
They owe their present condition to the action of the an- 
nual fires, which have kept under all forest growth, except 
the varieties of oak which can withstand the sweep of that 
element. 

A few years since the lumber of Western New York, 
and Pennsylvania, had undisputed possession of the market 
of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, above New Orleans. 
The course of this trade may now be considered as perma- 
nently changed. The extensive and valuable pineries of 
Wisconsin control, and will soon have entire possession of 
these markets, and also supply, to a considerable extent, 
the country on the lakes. 

The whole region between the Wisconsin and St. Croix 
rivers is interspersed with thick groves of large white pines, 
which are not excelled in quality by those of Maine, New 
Brunswick, the Alleghany or Susquehanna rivers, or of any 
other part of the world. While some of this pine timber 

(66) 



LUMBER REGIONS. 6Y 

is found in low or marshy places, the largest portion is 
upon dry ground, which, when the timber is removed, is 
well adapted to cultivation. No accurate estimate has 
been made of the quantity of these pine lands. Upon the 
Wisconsin, the Black, and the Chippewa rivers, as well as 
their tributaries, are numerous lumbering establishments, 
the annual product of which exceeds three hundred million 
feet ; while, in addition, saw logs are rafted and run from 
these rivers to the cities and villages on the Mississippi, to 
be there manufactured into lumber, amountino* to about 
half the same quantity. The value of the lumber products 
of the forest, in that portion of the country drained by 
these four large rivers, already amounts to a sum varying 
from five to eight millions of dollars (though lumbering is 
yet in its infancy). This article is gradually increasing in 
value, and must continue to increase, as the demand in the 
Mississippi valley is, and ever will be, greater than the 
supply. The latter is limited ; the former can have no 
assignable limit. 

The completion of the St. Croix and Lake Superior 
Kailroad will open this valuable region to the settler, 
affording him an opportunity of supplying a large market 
in the southern part of this State, and in Illinois, Iowa, 
and Missouri. Thousands of acres of these valuable tim- 
ber lands are waiting for settlers to occupy them, at 
Government price — $1 . 25 per acre. 

Proprietors of extensive pine lands have usually adopted 
the policy of selling to lumbermen the right of cutting the 
timber, receiving a certain stipulated price for what is 
called the "stumpage," and afterwards selling the soil to 
the farmer. The "stumpage" upon the Penobscot, the 
Kennebec, and the Androscoggin, in Maine, the St. John's 
in New Brunswick, and upon the Alleghany and the Sus- 
quehanna, is from $5 to $8 per thousand feet. The price, 



68 LUMBER REGIONS. 

of course, is regulated very much by the market value of 
lumber and the supply of pine timber. Upon these lands 
it would be worth now from $2 to $5 per thousand feet, 
depending very much upon the distance it required to be 
hauled. It is safe to estimate the "stumpage" at the 
average price of $2 per thousand. Ordinary pine trees 
will yield at least one thousand feet each, and it ought 
hardly to be called timbered land that will not average 
twenty-five trees to an acre ; so that, upon this calculation, 
the stumpage of these lands would be $50 per acre, which, 
extravagant as it may appear, we believe is quite within 
bounds. 

The river St. Croix, separating the State of Wisconsin 
from Minnesota, is celebrated for its pineries. It is esti- 
mated, that in the year 1855 there was sent to market, 
sawed and in the log, 300,000,000 feet. Estimating the 
average value of this lumber "afloat," at $10 per thou- 
sand feet, the value of the trade for that year would be 
$3,000,000. 

" The lumbermen of the St. Croix, during the sessions 
of the Wisconsin and Minnesota Legislatures of 1850-1, 
procured the incorporation of the ' St. Croix Boom Com- 
pany,' with a capital of $10,000. This work was consi- 
dered absolutely necessary, to facilitate the business of dri- 
ving, assorting, and rafting logs. The stock was speedily 
taken ; and by the following season the boom was built and 
ready for service. The work is substantial and permanent. 
Piers of immense size are sunk at proper distances, from 
the Minnesota shore to the foot of a large island near the 
centre of the stream, and again from the head of the island 
to the Wisconsin shore. The boom timbers are hung from 
pier to pier, and the whole river is entirely commanded, 
with no possibility of scarcely a single log escaping. The 
charter of the Company compels them, however, to give 



LUMBER REGIONS. 69 

free passage to all boats, rafts, &c., ascending or descend- 
ing the river. This duty is rather difficult to perform at 
certain times, particularly when the logs are running into 
the boom briskly, and hands are not to be had to raft and 
run thera out. This was the case once this season. The 
Asia came up with a heavy freight, which she had signed 
to deliver at Taylor's Falls. When she reached the boom 
a barrier of three or four miles of logs compactly inter- 
vened upon the water's surface, and forbade her further 
progress. The Company had been unable to procure la- 
borers to clear out the logs, but were nevertheless clearly 
liable to damages for obstructing navigation. They chose 
the only remedy at hand, which was to receive the freight, 
and pay its transportation up to the Falls in Mackinaw 
boats. With a full complement of men the boom can 
always be kept clear at the point where it crosses the maia 
channel of the river. 

*' The importance of the lumber business of the St. Croix 
river would hardly be estimated by a stranger. Larp-e 
quantities are floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis. 
The business of getting out the timber is carried on in the 
winter, and affords employment to large numbers of young 
men. The price of timber, as quoted in St. Paul market, 
is, for the best, $30 per M. ; for common, $20." 

The country lying between Green Bay and the Wolf 
river, as far north as the State line of Michigan, is slightly 
rolling, with a general depressive inclination southerly ; 
generally the soil is rich and productive, and extensively 
covered with a heavy growth of timber, viz : white and 
Norway pine, hemlock, rock maple, birch, cedar, tamarac, 
and some other varieties in smaller quantities. Pine lands, 
15 miles north of Fond du Lac, without any commercial 
facilities, except being near some navigable stream, are now 
worth from ten to twenty dollars per acre. Chicao-o fur- 



*IQ LUMBER REGIONS. 

nishes, to St. Louis, as a regular business, large quantities 
of manufactured lumber from that section of country ; and 
such is the profit derived from this branch of trade to all 
concerned in it, that along the streams of Northern Wis- 
consin, navigable for lumber, nearly all the Government 
pine lands, for a distance of 15 miles north of Fond du 
Lac, have been taken up. Near the Michigan line and 
north of it, large quantities of the most beautiful and valu- 
able curl and bird's eye maple abound. 

The rapids of the streams flowing through this part of 
the country furnish abundant water-power for the manufac- 
ture of lumber ; and on the annual spring rise, and occa- 
sional freshets at other seasons of the year, the yield of the 
mills is floated from the Wolf into Lake Winnebago and 
the Lower Fox. Large quantities besides are floated into 
Green Bay. It is difficult to estimate the amount of lum- 
ber produced yearly in the region under consideration. 
The pine trees from which it is made are nearly all taken 
from the public lands. From reports to Government, it 
is calculated that the timber on the Oconto and Wolf 
rivers, and on the head waters of other streams, will afford 
sufficient supplies for thirty years, although becoming less 
accessible every year. 

Lumber from Wisconsin now passes in considerable 
quantities through the Illinois Canal to the Mississippi, 
and the towns on the Illinois river. 

The produce of the Wolf river pineries, although but 
lately noticed, has hitherto been underrated. It has been 
estimated, by persons w^ell acquainted with the business, 
that in logs and lumber an amount equal to not less than 
seventy-five millions of feet of pine lumber passed down 
the Wolf river last year, and will not be less the present 
year. The business is increasing, and employs a great 
many men and teams. It is estimated that the work of 



LUMBER REGIONS. 71 

each ox team, and the number of hands employing it, will 
clear from five to seven hundred dollars in a season over 
expenses ; although there are instances in which nearly 
double that amount has been made. Most of those en- 
gaged in the lumber business of Wolf river are from Maine, 
and state the facility for getting logs out and running them 
to be superior to anything in their experience. The oppor- 
tunities for going into business have been very favorable 
to poor men, and at the present time there is no class of 
people in a more thriving condition than the lumbermen. 
Pine lands are now held at from five to ten dollars per 
acre, and, in some instances, as high as twenty for choice 
tracts. 

The quantity of lumber manufactured from the various 
regions or lumbering points in 1854, was estimated as 
follows ; 

Black River 48,000,000 

Chippewa 60,000,000 

Green Bay and Oconto 100,000,000 

Manitowoc 85,000,000 

St. Croix 70,000,000 

Red Cedar River 20,000,000 

Wisconsin 125,000,000 

Wolf River 40,000,000 

Total 498,000,000 

There are also numerous mills scattered throughout 
other sections in the State, from which no statistics have 
been obtained, which, in all, would lead us to estimate the 
manufacture in the State as high as five hundred and fifty 
millions of feet in 1854, since which time the business has 
increased at least 50 per cent. 

The Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad, by 
affording an easy communication to a portion of this 



*12 LUMBER REGIONS. 

region, will render it more advantageous to the settler. 
This Company lately received over a million of acres, being 
a part of the lands donated to the State by the U. S. 
Government for railroad purposes. 

The Milwaukee and Horicon Railroad Company, from 
Milwaukee to the City of Superior, is about purchasing 
from Government a strip of land, equal to a million of 
acres, which they will select partly from timber lauds. This 
road, when completed, will also open a vast section of 
country to improvement 

Persons desirous of settling in Wisconsin should re- 
member that thousands of acres of fine lands, thichly 
covered with timber, are yet open to pre-emption, along 
the routes of these railroads. Although it is at first 
tedious, and more difficult to bring the soil under cultiva- 
tion than on the prairie, yet it is generally conceded that, 
in the end, a farm in the woodland will be the most desi- 
rable ; the soil is thought to be stronger, and better adapted 
to wheat, fruit, etc. Emigrants from timbered countries 
generally select these lands, while those from the prairie 
regions of Illinois and Iowa settle on the prairies here. 
The first crop is put in on the sod, and is generally very 
good. 

Eastern capitalists are greatly needed to develop the 
unrivalled water-power of the rivers we have mentioned, 
as yet but partially used. The immense pineries at their 
sources are convenient to their several falls ; besides, the 
growing demand for lumber in the adjoining States (with- 
out any competition in the Mississippi valley), presents 
opportunities for the investment of their capital rarely 
offered. Most of these rivers empty into the Mississippi, 
and are navigable for rafts and boats of large size. 



RIVERS. t3 



RIVERS. 



Wisconsin is more bountifully supplied with water com- 
municatioQ than any other State in the Union. On its 
western border flows the mighty Mississippi, while its inte- 
rior is traversed in every direction by navigable streams, 
flowing generally in a southwestern direction, and dis- 
charging their waters into this great river. 

The Mississippi rises far in the regions of the northwest, 
and flows but a short distance before it becomes a broad 
stream. Sometimes, in its beginnings, it moves, a wide 
expanse of waters, with a current scarcely perceptible, 
along a marshy bed. At other times it is compressed to a 
narrow and rapid current, between ancient and hoary lime- 
stone bluffs. No thinking mind can contemplate this 
mighty and resistless stream, sweeping ever onward from 
point to point, through dark forests, and cultivated lands, 
without a feeling of awe. 

After a course of about two hundred miles from its 
source, it bends towards the east, and approaches within 
forty miles of the Bay of St. Louis, the head of ocean 
steam navigation of Lake Superior. From the earliest 
accounts we have qf this route from the lake to the river, 
it has been more generally traversed than any other in the 
northwest. Large quantities of furs have been sent from 
the northern part of Wisconsin in bark canoes up the St. 
Louis river, thence carried across the portage to Sandy 
Lake, and re-embarked there for the Mississippi. This 
trip has frequently been taken by tourists, and by many of 
the first settlers of the City of Superior. 

On the bosom of the "Mighty Father of Waters," the 
agricultural and mineral productions of our State find their 
way to St. Louis, New Orleans, and the Gulf of Mexico. 



•y^ RIVERS. 

Immense rafts of lumber are constantly seen floating down 
its current, consigned to Yarious ports on its banks. 

The lands bordering on this river are of incomparable 
fertility, equally adapted to the growth of wheat or the 
rearing of cattle, and afford a large surplus for exportation. 
The immigration to this favored region is great. Tillages 
and towns are rapidly springing up, on sites which, a few 
years ago, were the hunting grounds of various savage 
tribes. The daily travel on steamboats up this river is 
enormous, and increasing at such a rapid rate, that in a 
few years the valley of the Upper Mississippi will contain 
a dense population. 

The Wisconsin is the largest river that intersects the 
State. It rises near the northern boundary, and flows 
southward to the Winnebago Portage, in Columbia county ; 
thence it pursues a southwesterly direction until it enters 
the Mississippi, four miles below Prairie du Chien. The 
whole length is estimated at 600 miles. In the upper part 
of its course it is bordered by extensive forests of pine 
timber, of which large quantities are sent to market. It 
is navigable for steamboats to Portage City, about two 
hundred miles, and a canal is in process of construction 
from this point to the Nenah or Fox river, a distance of a 
mile and a half. Once completed, heavy freight between 
the Eastern markets and St. Louis will seek this channel, 
in preference to that of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, 
as now it seeks the latter in preference to other routes. 

The St. Croix river has its extreme source in Lake St. 
Croix and several other lakes that lie near the west end of 
Lake Superior. It is but a short distance (four miles, we 
believe), between this and Burnt Wood river, which flows 
into that lake. Across the narrow portage which sepa- 
rates their waters, large quantities of furs, merchandise, 
etc. , have been transported on the shoulders of voyageurs, 



RIVERS. "75 

and re-shipped in bark canoes for the Mississippi. The 
St. Croix river pursues a southwestern course from its 
source, until it reaches the east line of Minnesota. From 
this point it flows southward, forming the boundary be- 
tween that State and Wisconsin, until it empties its waters 
into the "Great River." The whole length is about two 
hundred miles. Large quantities of lumber are cut from 
the extensive pine forests bordering on its banks, and 
floated down to the Mississippi. 

The Bad Axe, Black, and Chippewa rivers, are im^ 
portant channels for floating timber to market from the 
pine regions in the northwestern part of the State. 

The Menomonee, emptying into Green Bay, and the 
Montreal, into Lake Superior, are rapid streams, which 
are valuable for mill-sites. They form part of the north- 
eastern boundary. The Menomonee has a descent of 1049 
feet. There are numerous saw-mills in operation on its 
waters, turning out large quantities of lumber yearly, 
which are floated into Green Bay. 

The St. Louis river, considered as the primary source 
of the St. Lawrence, flows some thirty miles along the 
northwestern part of the State ; it is navigable a short 
distance from its mouth, and will be more fully described 
in Part 11. of this work. 

The Fox River, or, as it is called by the Indians, Neenah, 
is one of the most important rivers in the State. It rises 
in Marquette County, and flows nearly south-west, towards 
the Wisconsin ; when within one and a half miles of that 
river, it changes its direction to the north ; after flowing a 
few miles, it passes through Lake Winnebago, and falls 
into Green Bay. Its whole length is estimated at two 
hundred miles. 

The Fox River Improvement is designed to enable boats 
to pass from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. 



T6 RIVERS. 

The whole length of canal necessary to secure a steam- 
boat communication from Green Bay to Lake Winnebago, 
is about five miles. It is 100 feet wide on the bottom, and 
120 at the top (two feet wider than the famous Welland 
Canal). The locks are 40 feet wide, by 160 long, and 
"built in the most permanent manner, of solid stone masonry, 
and in a style that will not suffer in comparison with any 
similar work in the Eastern States. It is calculated that, 
with the improved manner of working these locks, a steamer 
can pass each in the short space of three minutes. This 
will afford a rapid transit for the vast amount of freight 
that must and will seek an outlet through this thoroughfare 
to an Eastern market. The capacity of the river for all 
purposes of navigation is undoubted ; at no season of the 
year can there be any failure of water. 

Twelve miles above Oshkosh, westward, is the mouth of 
the Wolf River, a tributary of the Fox, and navigable for 
steamers for one hundred and fifty miles. Forty miles 
above the mouth of the Wolf River is the town of Berlin ; 
sixty miles further is Portage City and the town of Fort 
Winnebago ; above which places, for sixty miles, and below 
for one hundred and thirty-five miles, the Wisconsin is now 
Davigable for steamers. 

Through these, a ready communication will be secured 
with the Mississippi and its tributaries ; and it is confidently 
calculated that, at no distant day, steam tugs, with between 
200 and 500 tons burthen in tow, each, from St. Peter's 
River, from St. Paul, and other places in that direction, 
will land their cargoes at Green Bay, to be shipped to an 
Eastern market. The objection to be urged to this route, 
from so remote a locality, is, that it will take too long to 
make the transit. To this we have to reply, that it is esti- 
mated by those who know better than we, that this great 
distance can and will be overcome by just these kinds of 



LAKES. tT 

crafts in from four to six days, and by passenger boats in 
much less time. 

This improvement will open about 1000 miles to steam 
navigation, between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi 
River, including the navigable streams in the interior of 
Northern Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. 

This stupendous work, when completed, will do far more 
for the prosperity and advancement of the vast regions, 
opened to the advantages of connection with the Atlantic 
market, than any other improvement contemplated. 

LAKES. 

Lake Michigan. — This, which is second of the great 
lakes in size, is, in situation, soil, and climate, in many 
respects, preferable to them all. It is tlie largest lake that 
is wholly included within the United States. Its length, 
following the curve, is 360 miles ; its greatest breadth, 
about 90 miles; contains 16,981 square miles, and has a 
mean depth of 900 feet. Its surface is about 600 feet above 
the level of the sea. On its western shore is the great 
indentation of Green Bay, itself equal to the largest 
European lakes, being a hundred miles in length, by thirty 
in width, well sheltered at its mouth by the Traverse 
Islands, and having for its principal affluent the outlet of 
Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. No lake in the 
world is surrounded by so rich an agricultural country as 
Lake Michigan. On its western shore is Wisconsin, with 
its productive grain and grazing lands, and its immensely 
valuable lumber region ; on the north-west and north is 
that vast region of mineral wealth of part of the State of 
Michigan ; on its eastern border is the Michigan Peninsula, 
yielding its vast supplies of cereals, especially wheat and 
maize ; and on the south and south-west lie Indiana and 



"78 LAKES. 

Illinois, whose inexhaustible stores of agricultural products 
amaze the world.' 

On the Wisconsin side, several large cities have sprung 
- up, which are rapidly increasing in commerce and wealth. 

The total amount of the trade of Lake Michigan for the 
year 1851, was estimated at $58,468,029. In 1856, the 
imports and exports of Milwaukee alone, one of its most 
important ports, reached the sum of $48,000,000. The 
entire commerce of the Lake for that year amounted to over 
$3^5,000,000. 

Besides the great lakes which border its northern and 
eastern shores, Wisconsin has a number of smaller ones, 
varying from one to thirty-eight miles in extent. These 
lakes are often surrounded by the most beautiful scenery, 
and abound in various kinds of fish, while on their shores 
are found fine specimens of agate, cornelian, and other 
precious stones. Large quantities of wild rice grow in the 
shallow waters on the margins of some of them, and attract 
immense flocks of water-fowl to these localities. 

Lake Winnebago, in the eastern part of the State, is the 
largest of its inland lakes. It is about twenty-eight miles 
long and ten wide, with an area of about two hundred and 
twelve miles, and communicates with Green Bay through 
the Fox or Neenah River. Its depth is unequal, but amply 
sufficient for purposes of navigation. 

" Four Lakes" is a name given to a chain of beautiful 
lakes in Dane County, extending in a line from northwest 
to southeast, and emptying their w^aters into Catfish River. 
They are very transparent, and of sufficient depth in most 
places for navigation. The country surrounding them is 
undulating, and consists mostly of prairies and "oak 
openings," which, in the opinion of many, bear a great 

} Andrews' Report. 



LAKES. 19 

resemblance to English Park scenery. It is truly the 
"garden spot" of Wisconsin. 

First Lake, the lowest of the chain, is three miles and 
one-eighth in length, by two in width, covering about five 
square miles. It is situated a short distance above Dun- 
kirk Falls, near the southern line of the county. 

Second Lake, the next in order, is three and a half miles 
long, and nearly two wide ; and, like First, has an average 
depth of twelve feet. 

Third Lake is next above, at a distance of seven-eighths 
of a mile. It is about six and a half miles in length, by 
two in width. Madison, the capital of the State, is located 
on the north shore of this lake, on the strip of land between 
it and the next, about one mile across. 

Fourth Lake. — This beautiful expanse is the uppermost, 
and by far the largest of the chain — being six miles long, 
about four wide, and from fifty to seventy feet deep — 
covering an area of sixteen square miles. It is navigable 
for small steamboats. 

The land around this lake rises gradually from its mar- 
gin, and forms, in the distance, the most beautiful eleva- 
tions, the slopes of which are studded with clumps of 
woods, and groves of trees, forming the most charming 
natural scenery. The greatest variety of fish is to be ob- 
tained in this beautiful lake ; and it is believed, that for 
salubrity and fertility, this entire region will compare with 
any portion of the State. 

" The water of all these lakes, coming from springs, is 
cold and clear to a remarkable degree. For the most part, 
their shores are made of a fine gravel shingle ; and their 
bottoms, which are visible at a great depth, are composed 
of white sand, interspersed with granite boulders. Their 
banks, with few exceptions, are bold. A jaunt around 
them affords almost every variety of scenery — bold escarp- 



80 maiden's rock. 

ments and overhanging bluffs, elevated peaks, and gently 
sloping shores, with graceful swells or intervals, affording 
magnificent views of the distant prairies and openings ; 
they abound in fish of a great variety, and innumerable 
water-fowl sport upon the surface. Persons desiring to 
settle in pleasant locations, with magnificent water-views 
and woodland scenery, may find hundreds of unoccupied 
places of unsurpassed beauty upon and near their margins." 

Lake Pepin is an expansion of the Mississippi River, 
west of Wisconsin. In some places it is three miles wide, 
but generally averaging about two and a half, filling the 
whole space from bluff to bluff, except at two points, where 
small meadows appear, and extending in length twenty- 
five miles upon the river. It is destitute of islands. All 
along its shores, majestic bluffs of limestone stretch with 
more regularity, and rise to a height more nearly uniform, 
than in other parts of the river. At the entrance of the 
lake, high above all the rest, towers the " Maiden's Rock," 
some two hundred feet above the water, grand in nature, 
and associated with one of the most touching and romantic 
of Indian legends — the oft-repeated story of Winona. As 
each passer-by always relates it, we will not be an excep- 
tion — it is an " ower-true" tale of Indian fidelity and 
affection : — 

Winona was the daughter of a celebrated chief, who had 
betrothed her to a favorite warrior ; but her heart had 
been pledged to another, not less noble, but more youthful 
brave. She resisted for some time the wishes of her father, 
but at last he vowed that she must accept the object of his 
choice. The wedding-day was appointed, and the chief 
had proclaimed a feast. Among the delicacies to be pro- 
vided for this occasion, was a certain berry that was found 
in great perfection upon this bluff. It was on a pleasant 
summer's evening, and all the female friends of Winona, 



MAIDEN^S ROCK. 81 

accompanied by herself, were picking the desired berries. 
Carelessly did the " dark-haired maidens" wander on ; all 
at once, a low plaintive song fell upon their ears, and lo I 
upon the very edge of the frightful precipice stood the 
hapless Winona. Her song was death-like — she motioned 
them to keep back — then, one moment more, and Winona, 
the pride of her tribe, was buried in the clear, cold bosom 
of Lake Pepin. 

Pure woman's lore, mysterious power, 
From gentlest breast dispels its fear — 

"Winona, in her darkest hour, 

Nought but its whisperings can hear. 

O'er that tall rock, her death-song floats, 
Deep and despairing love its theme, 

TJntutor'd nature swells its notes, 

Closing life's sweet, but mad'ning dream. 

Pepin ! thy waters long shall lave, 

With swelling stream, yon rock's rude breast ; 

It marks the Indian maiden's grave. 
Where one pure heart has sunk to rest. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE PRINCIPAL CITIES — MILWAUKEE — MADISON 

BACINE, ETC. 

Milwaukee," the largest and most important city in the 
State, and, after Chicago, the most flourishing on the 
lakes, is situated on the west shore of Lake Michigan, and 
on both sides of the Milwaukee river. It is pleasantly 
located, partly on the flats bordering the river, and on the 
bluflfs rising abruptly from the lake to the height of some 
100 feet. The river, running nearly parallel to the lake in 
a southerly direction, is navigable for the largest steam- 
boats over two miles from its mouth. 

As the commercial capital of Wisconsin, its situation de- 
mands particular attention. The laws which govern trade 
and travel are, by the improvements and spirit of the age, 
reduced to two : — 1st. The shortest route to market ; 2d. 
The quickest and cheapest mode of transportation. The 
products of the Northwest seek a market upon the Atlantic 
coast. Heretofore, New York and Boston have monopo- 
lized the trade of this region. They will always retain a 
large share of it; but the recent improvements in the 
Canadas, and those projected, are rapidly diverting trade 
to the valley of the St. Lawrence. Business relations are 
being established between the cities of Quebec, Montreal^ 

1 For the facts and statistics in this article, "we are indebted to 
the Report of the Board of Trade, prepared by its Secretary, An- 
drew J. Aikens, Esq. 

(82) 



ADVANTAGES OF MILWAUKEE. 83 

Toronto, and Hamilton, on the one hand, and the Western 
Lake ports on the other. As regards New York and 
Boston, Milwaukee holds the most favorable position of 
any port on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Taking 
Buffalo as a common point on all the lines of trade be- 
tween these ports and those markets, it will be seen : 1st. 
That Milwaukee, by water communication, has the advan- 
tage in time and distance over any places at the south. 
2d. For the most direct route to Buffalo, either by land 
or water carriage, Milwaukee (so soon as the direct com- 
munication by the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad is 
opened) presents the most natural centre for all the trade 
and travel between the Northwest and the East. 

It may be remarked here, that this direct route, including, 
as it does, 81 miles of ferriage, from Milwaukee to Grand 
Haven, is considered by some as of doubtful practical 
utility, as a reliable and safe means of communication at 
all seasons. Let it be borne in mind, however, that ice 
never forms in Lake Michigan, owing to its great depth, 
and that the two termini of the ferry, viz : Milwaukee and 
Grand Haven harbors, would be kept open by the semi- 
daily boats, if not by the direct action of the waves of the 
lake. The only severe storms to be feared being from the 
N. N. E., would not, even in the worst cases, prevent 
good staunch boats making their regular trips, as in leaving 
Milwaukee harbor they would be constantly making a wind- 
ward shore and smooth sea, and in leaving Grand Haven, 
although approaching a lee shore and rough water, would 
have an easy and safe access to a secure river harbor. The 
only days on which regular trips could not be made would 
be those when the cold was so intense that ice would form 
rapidly on the running and steering machinery of the boats. 
This would not be, according to observations made for a 
series of years, more than five days in the year. Even the 



84 MILWAUKEE. 

present winter, with thirty days of cold weather, the harbor 
remained open. 

As the general direction of Northwestern trade and 
travel is coincident with the parallels of latitude instead of 
those of longitude, and as Milwaukee is in the same degree 
as the great Eastern markets, it can be easily seen that all 
the contemplated and progressing improvements must make 
it the natural centre or most available common point in 
the Northwest, whether by the semi-inland route, through 
Michigan and Canada, or around the Lakes. The advan- 
tages of this position will be very strongly developed, so 
soon as the direct route east, via Grand Haven and De- 
troit or Port Huron, is opened, and our system of railroads 
to the Mississippi completed. Its business radius will then 
extend from below Savanna, 111., in the Mississippi valley, 
to the extreme Northwest, sweeping in the trade of North- 
western Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, in addition to that 
of our own State. 

The harbor of Milwaukee is one of the best on the Great 
Lakes. The river widens at its mouth into a semi-circular 
bay, 6/5 miles from point to point, and Sg^^ miles across. 
At the point of approach to the lake, an artificial ^channel 
is in progress of construction. 

This new harbor entrance is 260 feet in width, and will 
soon be excavated to a sufficient depth to accommodate the 
heaviest tonnage of the Lakes, and, when completed, will 
make it the most accessible and capacious on Lake Mich- 
igan. The facilities presented by the old harbor — in im- 
proving which the United States expended, in 1844-5, 
$50,000 — will still be preserved. For over five-eighths of 
a mile between these two entrances, the river is both wide 
and deep. Nothing but the grossest and most ruinous 
Deglect, on the part of the city and of the U. S. Government, 
will ever permit this old harbor to fill up or become useless. 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. 85 

EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES — HEALTHFULNESS OF LOCATION 

Milwaukee, unlike many other cities of the West, com- 
bines the advantages of trade with equal advantages of 
education and health. 

The system of Free Schools was early established in 
Wisconsin, by the appropriation of the sixteenth section 
of every township in the State for the support and mainte- 
nance of common schools. From the proceeds of the sec- 
tional and overflowed lands, donated to the State, it is 
estimated that the School Fund will amount to $5,000,000. 
The avails of this permanent fund are set apart for the 
purposes of education. 

There are, in the City of Milwaukee, seven public 
schools. Each school has a primary, intermediate, and 
grammar department, and each department two or three 
teachers. The amount expended for educational purposes 
during the past year (aside from school-house repairs), was 
about $15,000. Of this sum, nearly $8000 accrues from 
the State Fund. 

Besides the public schools, the city has a University, in- 
corporated with full powers, and in successful operation, 
not inferior to any institution of the kind in the West. It 
has, also, a Female College in flourishing condition. In 
addition to these, there are several private schools of cha- 
racter and reputation, and a fully-organized Commercial 
College, all of which are well patronized and sustained. 

Built upon the high bluffs of Lake Michigan, and the 
picturesque slopes of the Milwaukee river, this city is un- 
rivalled in beauty of location by any other in the North- 
west. It is a rare circumstance to hear of a person of 
delicate health leaving it on account of difficulty of accli- 
mation. On the other hand, instances are numerous of 
8 



S6 



MILWAUKEE. 



people coming here with tendency to diseases of various 
kinds, who have, after a few years' residence, entirely re- 
covered. In summer it is not subject to the excessively hot 
and sultry weather of low towns, and in winter there is not 
the same intensity of cold — the lake being colder than the 
atmosphere in summer and warmer in winter. We estimate 
the mortality for the past year at two per cent., being less 
than the average of Boston or Buffalo for the past five 
years. 

POPULATION. 

The rise, history, and growth of the City of Milwaukee, 
is one of the wonders of a marvellous age and region. A 
few years ago the present site was a solitary waste, or field 
of savage warfare. In 1834 it contained only two log 
houses. The following table will show its rapid Increase, 
np to the present date. 



1838 700 

1840 1,751 

1842 2,700 

1846 9,655 

1847 14,061 



1850 20,000 

1853 25,000 

1855 32,000 

1857 45,000 

1860 estimated 60,000 



This increase has not been spasmodic or forced, but has 
followed the growth of the country tributary to it. 



VALUATION. 



The following table will show the assessed valuation of 
the real and personal property of the city. The prepon- 
derance in favor of the Third Ward is owing to the fact 
that the heaviest part of the mercantile wealth is located 
here, and constitutes nearly one-half of its valuation. 



BUIXiDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 81 

First Ward $3,262,260 

Second Ward 3,095,950 

Third Ward 8,958,850 

Fourth Ward 5,358,470 

Fifth Ward 5,094,110 

Sixth Ward 1,999,190 

Seventh Ward 6,388,340 

Total $35,458,130 

The actual indebtedness of tlie city on the 4th of March, 
1856, as reported by the City Comptroller, was $229,550. 

The tax list is divided as follows for the current year 
of 1857 : 

Ward Tax $69,935 

Interest Tax 31,196 

County Tax 47,944 

City Expenses 23,976 

State Tax 22,374 

School Tax 9,588 

Total Taxation $199,013 

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS. 

Real estate during the first six months of the past year 
advanced rapidly, and at the rate of 25 to 30 per cent, 
increase on the prices of 1855. It closed with prices 
steady at the advance made in the early part of the season. 
It was marked by great activity in building, and the im- 
provements were of the most substantial character. In 
fact, their extent has been only limited by the supply of 
material and mechanics. 

BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 

Formerly, the brickmakers of Milwaukee were able to 
supply the consumption at home, and also export to the 
extent of 12,000,000. During the past year, although 



88 MILWAUKEE. 

there has been a large increase of manufacture, less than 
1,000,000 of bricks were exported, and of this number a 
great share was on old contracts. Large numbers of stores 
were erected, many of them spacious and valuable build- 
ings. As nearly as we can ascertain, there are of this class 
15 stores, of an aggregate cost of $250,000. In addition 
to these improvements, there were erected 500 small build- 
ings, including shops, offices, and dwellings, costing, on 
an average, $1000 each, at an aggregate cost of $500,000, 

Besides the improvements we have mentioned, there 
were many other buildings erected. The amount expended 
upon construction and repairs, exclusive of streets and 
ground, exceeds $2,150,000. 

In this connection it is pertinent to remark, that Mil- 
waukee is celebrated for the manufacture of a peculiar kind 
of brick, of a delicate cream or straw color, agreeable to 
the eye, and unaffected by the action of the elements. The 
appearance of the houses, chiefly built of this material, is 
very striking, and to a stranger visiting the place for the 
first time, presents an admirable and remarkable sight. 
Few cities in the country (if, indeed, there are any) have 
the materials for building more at hand, or of finer quality, 
than this. Not only quarries of beautiful, light-colored 
stone, within the limits of the city, and adjacent to the 
railroads, but also lime in abundance for home consump- 
tion and exportation. 

As to lumber, the pineries of the north supply the city 
with 100,000,000 feet annually. 

WHOLESALE TRADE. 

The wholesale business of Milwaukee has received a 
great impetus lately, on account of the penetration of the 
interior of the State by railroads, and the opening of a 
direct road to the Mississippi. From present appearances, 



WHOLESALE TRADE. 89 

there is abundant reason for believing that this part of its 
trade has but just begun, and that the future will see it 
increase in still greater ratio. 

During the present year, the Milwaukee and Mississippi 
Kailroad was opened to Galena and Dubuque, and also to 
Prairie du Chien. By either of these routes merchandise 
can be delivered from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi 
river, with less railroad transit than any routes now in 
existence. 

Among the most important railroads is the Milwaukee 
and La Crosse, which passes through the interior of the 
State, opening up some of the finest farming lands in the 
West ; also running its branches into the lumber and 
mining regions of the North, as well as forming connec- 
tions with the Land Grant roads of Minnesota, which will 
eventually carry to Milwaukee, to be shipped to the East, 
a large portion of the produce of that productive State. 
The completion of these roads will bring to this city a 
heavy trade, that has been always supposed would centre 
at Chicago. Already Milwaukee outstrips her in the grain 
business ; the receipts and exports at this place, the pre- 
sent season, exceed those of Chicago, and there is no rea- 
son to show why they may not for the future. 

The merchants of this city procure transportation at a 
less tariff of freight than any port on the lake, by the lines 
of propellers now running between this and the lower lake 
ports, so that they are able to sell to the more Western 
houses at rates of advance, on New York, Boston, and 
Philadelphia prices, little more than cost, insurance, and 
transportation. At least 150 merchants are engaged in the 
wholesale business of this city, besides a large number who 
do a heavy retail trade with the country lying on the rail- 
road lines. The amount of the wholesale trade, for the 
year 1856, is estimated at $16,942,000. 
8* 



90 MILWAUKEE. 

Amonp: the houses included in this estimate are eighteen 
whose sales are over $200,000 each; eight that sell over 
$300,000 each; three that sell over $400,000; and two 
that sell over $500,000 each. 

MONETARY. 

No city in the Union offers better, safer, or more remu- 
nerative employment for capital, than Milwaukee. The 
banking-system of Wisconsin is probably the safest in the 
United States. Under such an organization it is scarcely 
possible that bill-holders can suffer loss.' 

There is no law in Wisconsin against high rates of 
interest. The legal rate for banks being 10 per cent., and 
12 per cent, for other purposes. The penalty for higher 
than these rates being simply a forfeiture of the interest 
charged, and only recoverable by a tender of the principal 

1 "Every bank must transfer, in trust, to the State Treasurer, 
United States stocks, or any State stocks on which full interests at 
not less than six per cent, is annually paid, and estimated at their 
average value for the previous six mo'hths in New York City, equal 
to the amount of bills intended to be put in circulation ; but the 
Comptroller is not bound to receive them unless he considers them 
safe. 

*' The law further provides that the bonds of any Railroad company 
in this State, which have forty miles or more in operation, bearing 
a rate of seven per cent, per annum, interest payable semi-annually, 
and secured by a deed of trust upon such road, may be received in 
lieu of public stocks ; but, in such case, bills shall be issued for not 
more than one-half the amount of such bonds. 

"And, as an additional security to bill-holders, it is provided that, 
before circulating any notes, bonds shall be given by the directors 
and stockholders of the bank, secured to the satisfaction of the 
Comptroller, to the amount of one-fourth the bills to be issued. 

" Each bill must have on its face the words, * Secured by pledge 
of Public stocks,' (or of Railroad bonds,) and be countersigned by 
the Bank Comptroller." — Abstract of the Banking Law of the State. 



BANKING — WHEAT TRADE. 



91 



in gold. Large amounts of capital are flowing here yearly 
for investment, drawn from other States, in which the legal 
rates of interest are from six to eight per cent. 

The Banks average 10 per cent, dividends ; the Insurance 
Companies, 10 to 15 ; and the Railroads, 8 to 10 per cent. 
Several millions of dolllars could be invested at these rates 
in the city. 

Table, showing the Principal Items in the Reports of the Bayiks of the 
City of Milwaukee, as made to the Comptroller, for January, 1857. 



Name of Banks. 


L^ars and 
Discoiii Is. 


S'ockde- 
{jnsited. 


Specie. 


Cap'al. 

$4ro,00' 
2^0,000 
200.000 
100,00 ' 
2^.000 
50,000 
25 000 


Circula- 
tion. 

859,721 
43^:09 
46 347 
49.327 
22 9m7 
23,-2 
2 ,623 


Deposits. 


S ate Bank nf Wisconsin, . . 
Farmers' and M:ll*>rs' Bank, 
Ba k nf Milwaukee, - . . 
VViscon. M. & F. L. Co. Bank, 

Peiple'i Hank, 

M ir ne Bank, 

Second VVai (IBank, . . .' 

1 T'.tal, 


§774,^84 96 
.572,810 90 
374,367 .50 
361 695 6t. 
73 278 19 
W,^22 r. 
6(1.003 61 


<J69.000 
45,000 
50 000 
50,000 
23,0<"!0 
30,000 
25,000 


$50,823 19 
22,434 65 
II 910 43 
66,940 02 
8, 1 1 1 60 
5,049 09 
11,103 94 


$485,887 75 
371,774 85 
I01,3-.3 37 
320.963 02 
7 ,412,^4 
97,776 .1 
72,495 82 


$2,305 663 59 


$292,000 


$ 176,372 '.2 


$1,050,00C 


$2 6 366 


$1,527 693 86 



Besides the business done by the eight banks of issue, 
there is a large amount of transactions through private 
bankers and brokers. During the past year, there was 
added to the banking capital of the city $415,000, and it 
is contemplated to increase the capital of several banks 
during the current year of 185Y. From careful estimates, 
the amount of money used by the entire mercantile and 
manufacturing business for 1856, exceeded $30,000,000. 



WHEAT TRADE. 

Milwaukee is one of the largest grain-markets in the 
world. Probably nine-tenths of the surplus wheat (the 
staple) of the State, is shipped from her port. So high 
has Wisconsin wheat stood at the Eastern and European 
markets, that its merchants have been able to sell it for 
eight to ten cents per bushel above the prices for Illinois 
and more southern States. This fact has turned the atten- 



92 MILWAUKEE. 

tion of farmers to raising it, to the exclusion of other 
grains ; and, while the wheat crop, since 1850, has increased 
at the ratio of fifty per cent, per annum, the crops of rye, 
oats, barley, and corn, have remained stationary, or advanced 
only with the home demand. 

The crop of 1856 was the largest ever harvested in the 
State, and was secured in good condition. It was esti- 
mated at 12,000,000 bushels, an excess of 4,000,000 over 
the crop of 1855. We add a table, showing the rates at 
which Chicago and Milwaukee spring-wheat sold in New 
York during the past year. With such an advantage for 
Milwaukee wheat, this market will always have the pre- 
ference over Chicago. 

Prices of Wheat at New York, 1856. 

Date. Chicago. Milwaukee. 

June 1 $1 40 $1 48 

" 7 125 140 

"14 122 1 37i (choice). 

" 23 129 136 

July 2 130 137i 

" 9 139 150 

" 16 130 140 

" 23 134 144 

Aug. 1 1 45 1 61 (choice). 

Sept. 1 120 130 

Oct. 1 135 144 

Nov. 1 138 (choice). 144 

Dec. 1 134 « 140 



RAILROAD SYSTEM OF MILWAUKEE. 

1 MIS city is connected by railroads with every section of 
the Union. The Milwaukee and Mississippi, the Mil^ 
waukee and Watertown, East and West, connecting the 
Lakes and the Mississippi River. The La Crosse and 
Milwaukee, and the Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 93 

railroads, each connecting her with Lake Superior. The 
railroad from Green Bay, through Milwaukee, to Chicago, 
commonly called the Lake Shore road, is to her what the 
Hudson River railway is to Troy and Albany, in the State 
of New York. Other railroads are projected, either new 
routes or old ones, to intersect the country in various direc- 
tions. Some of these, doubtless, will be carried through, 
although the period of their completion is more distant 
than of those above-named. 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 

Milwaukee is the market for the greater part of the 
products of Wisconsin. Steamboats, and other vessels 
navigating the lake, touch here on their way to and from 
Detroit, and points on Lake Erie, and the St. Lawrence 
and Welland Canals. It is the principal port of entry of 
the district of the same name, comprising about 100 miles 
of the western shore of Lake Michigan. This tonnage, 
belonging to the district of Milwaukee, December 31st, 
1856, was as follows : 

Total tonnage of Steamers 1,869'.32 

" " Propellers ^ 705'54 

" " Barks 1,215-22 

" " Brigs 2,095-17 

" " Schooners 14,989-06 

Total amount of tonnage 21,497-50 

1854. 1855. 1856. 

Tonnage 12,000. 14,342. 21,497. 

Increase in two years 8,874. 

The number of arrivals and departures for the year were 
4,t20, with an aggregate tonnage of 2,009,826; with 
84,549 seamen on board. 



94 MILWAUKEE. 

Arrivala of Vessels at the Port of Milivaukee, during the navigation 
season of 1856. 

Steam Vessels. Sail Vessels. Total. 

In the month of April 61 60 121 

" *' May lir 151 268 

" " June 119 24r 366 

« " July 187 138 325 

" " Aug 194 184 378 

« " Sept 185 152 337 

" *' Oct 149 126 275 

" " Nov 71 76 147 

" <' Dec 8 18 26 

Total 1091 1152 2243 

Besides the additions to its fleet at the ship-yards, the 
Chicago and Milwaukee line of steamers is now owned and 
registered at this port. 

RECAPITULATION. 
Total amount of Tonnage of the District of Milwanhee, Dec. Z\st, 1856. 

Vessels. Tons. 

Steamers 3 1,869-32 

Propellers 2 705-54 

Barks 3 1,21622 

Brigs 7 2,095-17 

Schooners 90 15,581-83 

Total 105 21,467-08 

It would be an unpardonable omission, should we over- 
look the departure from this port of the Schooner Dean 
Richmond, with a cargo of wheat for Liverpool, England. 
This important event took place on the 21st of July, 1856, 
amid one of the most pleasant demonstrations, on the part 
of the mercantile community, ever made in this city. The 
Richmond was loaded at the warehouse of H. & J. F. Hill, 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 95 

on the Milwaukee Kiver, with a cargo of selected club 
wheat. She was owned by C. Y. Richmond and Captain 
Pierce, and the cargo sent out by C. J. Kershaw, of Mon- 
treal. The vessel registered 371 tons, and took 14,000 
bushels. She arrived at Liverpool on the 29th of Sep- 
tember, cargo and vessel in excellent condition. Thus 
was commenced, what will eventually prove to be of vast 
importance — direct trade with JEurope, via the St. Law- 
rence and the Great Lakes. 

During the past year, the American and Western Trans- 
portation Companies have run daily lines of propellers 
between this port and Buffalo, on Lake Erie, and are ready 
to supply the wants of the freight traffic with every carrying 
facility necessary for the expeditious transaction of business. 
In 1856 the trade of this city with Oswego, on Lake 
Ontario, had more than doubled. Of three million bushels 
of wheat shipped from this port, one-third has found its 
way to Oswego. The trade with Canada has also largely 
increased ; a good share of the exports of flour and pork 
having gone to Canadian markets. 

The revenue collected at the Port of Milwaukee during the year 1856, 
up to December ISth, amounts to $205,992 40.- 

Value of mdse. entered during same period, $895,848 00 

Duty $268,126 30 

Value of goods remaining in warehouse on 

December 31st, 1855 161,064 00 

Duty 49,931 10 

Total ; $1,056,912 00 $318,057 40 

Deduct value withdrawn and duty paid ... 636,806 00 205,992 40 

Value of merchandise remaining in ware- 
house, December 18th, 1856 $420,106 00 $112,065 00 



96 MILWAUKEE 

COMPATJATIVE DUTIES. 
Amount 0/ Duties collected during the years 1S55 and 1856. 

1855. 1856. 

January $11,259 90 $11,220 30 

February 11,702 60 22,845 30 

March 5,765 60 685 70 

April 918 00 6,4.32 50 

May 20,687 40 6,467 80 

June 13,025 30 6,534 00 

July 19,92190 19,607 60 

August 9,138 70 19.056 80 

September 12,645 30 16,70190 

October 16,203 20- 21,66140 

November 27,093 00 38,588 70 

December 25,467 60 37,390 60 

Total $172,130 00 $205,992 60 

Comparative Value of Imports at the Port of Mihoaiikee. 

Total, 1854 $11,124,000 

«< 1855 18,649,832 

" 1856 27,974,748 

Comparative Value of Exports. 

Total, 1851 $2,607,824 

" 1854 7,709,571 

« 1865 17,329,531 

" 1856 20,274,300 

The imports and exports for the year 1856, for the Port 
of Milwaukee, do not represent, by many millions of dollars, 
the entire traffic of the city. It is estimated that the entire 
imports and exports, by lake and railroad, amount to 
$15,000,000, or about one-fifth of the entire commerce of 
Lake Michigan. The completion of the railroads from 
Milwaukee to the Mississippi and Lake Superior, will at 
once double or treble the present extent of its commerce. 

MANUFACTURES. 

The manufactures of Milwaukee are yet in their infancy, 
but are annually increasing in variety and extent, and rising 



MANUFACTURES. 9t 

in importance. There are in this city some eighteen shops, 
employing from twelve to one hundred men each, and 
turning out an aggregate amount of $800,000 of work per 
annum. Fully one-half the present capital was added the 
past year, and no less than six of these establishments were 
new during the year 1856. Extensions and enlargements 
are contemplated for the present year to the amount of 
$300,000, besides several new establishments. 

ALE, BEER, ETC. 

During the year 1856, there were twenty-six breweries 
in operation in the city, manufacturing 15,000 barrels of 
ale and beer, the larger portion of which was lager beer. 
Of this amount, probably 30,000 barrels were sent from 
this city. The entire capital employed was about $1,000,000. 
Enlargements and extensions were made during the year 
to the amount of $250,000. The number of men employed 
is about 500, at average wages of $8 per week. 

BRICK-MAKING. 

Notwithstanding the demand from abroad for the beau- 
tiful Milwaukee brick has been unabated, still the con- 
sumption at home has been so great that but few have 
been exported. While, in 1856 there were manufactured 
35,000,000, only 1,000,000 were exported. There are 
eight brick-yards in operation, employing about 300 men. 

FLOURING-MILLS. 

Large outlays, during the past year, have been made 
upon the flouring-mills of the city, causing them to remain 
idle a considerable portion of the time. The total amount 
of flour manufactured by the five mills, beside custom work, 
was 116,000 barrels. 
9 



98 MILWAUKEE. 



PORK AND BEEF PACKING. 



During the past year, the first Cattle Market ever opened 
in the city, was started by Messrs. Layton & Plankinton. 
It was commenced in August, and they sold, to the close 
of the year, about $60,000. 

The beef packing amounted to about the same as 1855, 
or about 10,000 bbls. About 100 men are employed in 
this business, at $1.50 per day, for the season. 



BOOTS AND SHOES. 



There has been a large increase in the manufacture of 
boots and shoes. The amount for the past year was 
$350,000, against $185,000 for the year before. There 
are 500 men employed, at average wages of $1 per week. 



CLOTHING. 



The manufacture of clothing, for the year 1856, nearly 
doubled that of 1855, and now amounts to $600,000. The 
number of hands employed by the wholesale houses is over 
450, at average wages of $t.50 per week. 



SHIP BUILDING. 

During the first months of 1856, the amount of tonnage 
launched was 1600 — one propeller and five schooners. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

There are many branches of industry that could be 
spoken of with interest, but the limits of this work forbid. 
It is satisfactory to notice that the manufacturers of Mil- 
waukee are so prosperous and -successful. The advance- 
ment has been beyond all expectation, and bids fair to out- 
rival the past history of this industrious city. 



EARLY DAYS. 99 

The total araonnt of the various manufactures in Milwaukee, 

for the year 1856, were $8,057,000 

The total for the year 1855, were 5,590,000 

« u " 1854, <' 4,638,000 

The merchants of Milwaukee are energetic and enter- 
prising ; its Board of Trade active, efficient, and attentive 
to its commercial and industrial interests. A report of the 
business of the cit}^ is annually published by its Secretary, 
and widely circulated. Much of its prosperity may be 
traced to the efforts of this Board, in addition to its ably- 
conducted newspaper press. 

From these returns it will be seen what a splendid future 
awaits Milwaukee. In a few years its population will have 
reached one hundred thousand. Every new development 
of trade, the railroads opened throughout the vast extent 
of country tributary to it, the commerce of the lakes — all 
add to its wealth, population, and importance. Tt is en- 
tering upon a career that will certainly place it on a level 
with the large commercial cities of the Eastern States. 
Should it not be the ambition of every citizen to make it 
worthy of its high destiny ? 

EARLY DAYS. 

Before closing this sketch of Milwaukee, it may be w^ell 
to give a short account of her ''early days," with a word 
or two in regard to Solomon Juueau, one of the ''first 
settlers." 

Thirty-nine years ago this enterprising pioneer immi- 
grated from Canada, and built for himself a log cabin on 
the future site of this great city. For seventeen long years 
the "children of the forest" were his only neighbors. He 
kept a few goods suitable for their wants, and was not only 
the merchant of the place, but the only "white settler." 

It is very rare that, in these hurrying days, men live to 



100 MILWAUKEE. 

see their anticipations realized — whether they strive to win 
a farm from the wilderness, or to found a city; But Solo- 
mon Juneau, the first white settler of Milwaukee, is a rare 
and an honored exception. lie "still lives" — and as he 
treads alone the banks of that beautiful river, upon which 
he made his lodgment in the wilderness, with what feelings 
must he revert to the scenes of his early life ? The Indians 
with whom he traded — where are they ? Alas ! the story 
of the "red men" has become an "oft-told tale;" it ex- 
cites little interest at the present day. They are gone ! 
The hardy pioneers who gradually clustered around the site 
of his cabin, and whom a life of mutual hardships and pri- 
vations converted into friends and neighbors, have also 
disappeared. They, too, have passed to "that undis- 
covered country, from whose bourne no traveller returns." 
No mark remains of the cabin of the "first settler." In 
its stead has sprung up, as if by some magic influence, a 
great and populous city. His early home is obliterated by 
the homes of thousands, and the clearing, in which his 
axe only was heard, now resounds with the busy hum of 
men, toiling together to realize their anticipations of for- 
tune and happiness, upon the spot where, less than forty 
years ago, he felled the first tree, to frame the home of the 
"pioneer." 

Truly he has cause for wonder, and as the reminiscences 
of the past crowd upon his memory, and bring the lights 
of other days around him, he may well feel that he "treads 
alone" those now crowded scenes, the solitary witness of 
the city's birth. He, too, approaches the termination of a 
varied and useful life ; let us hope that the end of the 
" pioneer" may be peaceful and happy.' 

J At the first charter election in the new city, Solomon Juneau was 
elected M.iyoi', which was a well-merited compliment to the "old 
pioneer." Subsequently lie left Milwaukee and settled in Dodge 



EARLY DAYS. 101 

" In the spring of 1835,' a Land Office being established 
at G^reen Bay, the land was brought into market, and Mr. 
Juneau purchased a small tract, consisting of about 160 
acres, lying on the east side of the river, directly north of 
Wisconsin street. Previous to this time, G. H. Walker, 
Esq., had come and made a claim to what is now called 
Walker's Point, to which he subsequently obtained a title. 
Byron Kilbourn, Esq., about that time purchased a tract 
on the west side of the river, which has, from that time, 
been known by the name of 'Kilbourntown. ' Daniel 
Wells, Jr., W. W. Gilmore, Geo. D. Douseman, E. W, 
Edginton, T: C. Douseman, Geo. 0. Tiffany, D. II. Bich- 
ards, Wm. Brown, Jr., Milo Jones, Enoch Darling, and 
others, immigrated about the same time, and made large 
purchases of lands. In the course of the summer a num- 
ber of good buildings were erected, and a great many 
Eastern speculators came and bought lands at high prices. 
Mr. Juneau, about this time, sold an undivided interest in 
his lands to Morgan T. Martin. He built a fine dwelling- 
house, on the lot where Mitchel's Banking House now 
stands; also a large store and warehouse, on what is now 
known as 'Ludington's Corner.' In 1836 he was doing 
a large business, both in selling goods and lots. During 
that season, $300,000 worth of goods had been trans- 
ported there to sell. Ground-rents were nearly as high 
as at present. A merchant with a stock of goods would 
arrive one day, and by the next day noon he would have a 
store completed to open. Business was done on the Cali- 
fornia principle. Stores were usually built of rough boards, 
retaining the 'grass floor,' and, in several instances, a 
blanket was hung up for a partition, and one half of the 

county, where lie still resides. He has now a large family, and we 
learn that by hard labor lie obtains a comfortable living. 
1 First Annual Report of the Wisconsin Historical Society. 
9* 



102 MILWAUKEE. 

tenement rented to another for a dollar a day. The to^Yn 
was flooded with speculators, and all made money until the 
present residents left, and navigation closed, when a sud- 
den change came 'o'er the spirit of their dreams.' The 
town was left with a large stock of goods, and but few 
inhabitants. Merchants and other business men enjoyed 
the winter in the best possible manner During the fall 
quite a large number of settlers had arrived, of the right 
stamp, whom space will not allow us to mention. All had 
been engaged in the laud busmess, and had plenty of money 
left to winter on. 

" The spring of 1837 disappointed all our anticipations. 
A general stagnation in business prevailed in all directions. 
Our currency was mostly of the Michigan ' wild cat' stamp 
(no longer a legal tender). There was no sale of real 
estate. The second payments were becoming due on pur- 
chases of real estate, and all who supposed themselves rich 
in lands were not only destitute of money, but the means 
of raising it. Some, who were able to hold on, kept their 
property until they could get a handsome advance, while 
the majority were compelled to sell for what they could get, 
and bankruptcy was the inevitable result. 

" At this time there were but a few settlements in the 
interior ; but the hard times, which continued through the 
years 1837-8, induced many to leave Milwaukee and locate 
a * claim. ' The lands between the Milwaukee and Rock 
rivers were then surveyed, but were not brought into mar- 
ket until the fall of 1839. During this time they had be- 
come thickly settled, and many of them quite valuable. 
The hard times at the East had led numbers of persons to 
seek a home in the West; and in the fall of 1839, when 
those lands came into market, many of them had been so 
improved that they were worth from $10 to $100 an acre, 
while the occupants had not the first 'red cent' to buy 



MADISON. 103 

them. Consequently, a large proportion of the settlers 
were compelled to either sell their improvements for what 
they could get, or pay from 25 to 50 per cent, for money 
to enter their lands. 

"About this time Alex. Mitchell, Harvey Burchard, the 
Messrs. Ludington, E. Eldred, and other capitalists, came 
to Milwaukee, and purchased lots at $100 each, that had 
previously been sold from $1000 to $1500, and are now 
selling from $5000 to $15,000 each. From that day to 
this, ' the rise and progress' of Milwaukee has been steady 
and onward. The price of land has continued to advance 
with the increase of business, and nearly all who com- 
menced business here at that time, and continued to the 
present, have become wealthy and independent," 

MADISON, THE CAPITAL OF WISCONSIN. 

The City of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, and seat 
of justice of Dane, the largest and most productive county 
in the State, is situated on a rising ground, between two 
lovely lakes, and i» the most magnificent site of any inland 
town in the United States. On the northwest is Lake 
Mendota, nine miles long and six wide ; on the east Lake 
Monona, five miles long and three wide. The city is cele- 
brated for the beauty, health, and pleasantness of its loca- 
tion ; commanding, as it does, a view of nearly every cha- 
racteristic of country peculiar to the West — the prairie, 
oak opening, mound, lake, and woodland. The surface 
of the ground is somewhat uneven, but in no place too 
abrupt for building purposes. The space between these 
lakes is a mile in width, rising gently as it leaves their 
banks to an altitude of about seventy feet, and is then 
alternately depressed and elevated, making the site of the 
city a series of gently undulating swells. On the most 



104 MADISON. 

elevated ground is the State House, in the centre of one 
of Nature's Parks of fifteen acres, overlooking the "Four 
Lakes" and the surrounding city. From this the streets 
diverge in every direction, with a gradual descent on all 
sides. 

To the west, about a mile distant, is the State Univer- 
sity, in the midst of a park of 40 acres, crowning a beau- 
tiful eminence. On the south side of Lake Monona is a 
spacious Water-Cure establishment, surrounded by an ex- 
tensive grove, and presenting a very striking appearance 
on approaching the city. Around Madison, in every di- 
rection, is a well-cultivated, undulating country, which is 
fast being occupied by pleasant homes. 

Daniel S. Curtiss, in his graphic work entitled Western 
Portraiture, has given us his impressions of Madison, as 
follows : 

" At some time in our travels or observations, all of us have met 
with situations that were at once indelibly impi*essed upon the fancy 
as the paragon of all out-door loveliness and beauty — the place with 
which all others were contrasted, and to which they must bear some 
respectable degree of resemblance to be esteemed delighttal loca- 
tions. With many persons, Madison is that paragon of landscape 
scenery. As the brilliant diamond, chased around with changing 
borders, which sparkles on the swelling vestment of some queenly 
woman, so this picturesque city, with its varied scenery, sits the 
coronal gem on the broad and rolling bosom of this rich and bloom- 
ing State." 

The Chicago Journal thus candidly and truthfully speaks 
of the " Four Lake Country : 

" For a long time, ' as beautiful as Madison' has been a household 
word among tourists in the Northwest, but it is only a few weeks 
since we looked, for the first time, upon this piece of embossed 
work ; embossed, as if Nature feared for the blindness of humanity, 
and so had given in raised characters this rare passage of poetry. 



IMPRESSIONS OF STRANGERS. 105 

'"True, the season in which we saw it was unfavorable; the wind 
was keen, and blew from some open window of the north ; great 
patches of snow alternated with patches of withered gi-ass ; great 
panes of ice were set in over the lakes ; the groves were leafless and 
birdless, and our approach toward the region had been slow and 
tedious. 

"But notwithstanding all these discomforts, the capabilities of 
Madison could not be altogether disguised. Nobody could help 
seeing what a week of merry May, or a day or two of leafy June 
could do for its swelling, wood-crowned hills, its wide sweeps of 
crystal water, its beautiful gardens, and its broad avenues. Do what 
one will witlu"^ floor of a prairie ; enamel it with flowers, dot it with 
shrubbery, meander it with paths, and, despite all, it is a flat still. 
You cannot conceal its poverty of resoxirces ; brooks will not run in 
it ; smile it may, biit it never shows a dimple ; rocks there are none 
for rustic seats, nor mosses to cover them if there were ; there are 
no trees of God's planting ; there are no surprises of beauty, for all 
is revealed at a single glance. Not so Madison ; it is rich in capa- 
bilities ; almost all its loveliness is furnished ready to hand, and men 
have nothing to do but live in it. 

" Located up -^* a grand billow of an isthmus, little less than a 
mile in width, V Hween two sheets of water, Lake Mendota and Lake 
Monona, one containing some fifteen square miles, and the other 
about fifty; with its park-like surroundings, undulating aAvay in the 
distance ; the clusters'of groves, and sweeps of lawn, and glimpses 
of water; on the west Lake Mendota, with its promontory, sacred 
to the uses of friendship, ' Pic-nic Point;' on the east Monona; 
here Waubesa, there Kegonoa, the Yahara, and yonder Wingra and 
Peshugo ; as if, at some time, the toilet-glass of the evening staS 
had been shattered by the red 'planet Mars,' or some such turbulent 
fellow in the planetary court, and so the fragments were strewn over 
the landscape just there ; with all these features, and such as these, 
one may wander far through many a summer's day ere he will find 
a place like Madison, at which he can exclaim as did the Indian, 
"enamored with the Paradise upon which he had noiselessly stolen, 
'Alabama!' — here we rest." 

Bayard Taylor wrote to the New York Weekly Tribune, 
in May, 1855, an account of his adventures in the West, 
in which he made the following mention of Madison ; 



106 MADISON, 

<* For natmval beauty of situation, Madison surpasses any Western 
town I have seen. It is built on a narrow isthmus, between the 
Third and Fourth Lakes. On the summit of a mound stands the 
State House, in the centre of a handsome square of fourteen acres, 
from which broad, smooth streets divei'ge, with a gradual descent on 
all sides. To the west, and about a mile distant, stands the Uni- 
versity, on the summit of a hill, or mound, of about equal height. 
The Madisonians count seven hills, but I could not make them all out 
distinctly, nor do I think it necessary to the beauty of the place 
that it should have a forced resemblance to Rome. In one respect 
it is equal — in a soft, beautiful, cream-colored stone, which furnishes 
the noblest building material. Many of the business blocks and 
private houses display architectural taste." 



SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH:. 

"The settlement of Madison,"' observes the Hon. A. 
A. Bird, in his recent inaugural address as Mayor, "was 
commenced in April, 1837. At that period, almost all the 
entire territory between Lake Michigan and the Missis- 
sippi river, was a wild and unsettled country, inhabited 
only by the ' Sons of the Forest. ' At that time, and 
during a few subsequent years, there was a greater number 
of Indians at Madison, and in what was then termed the 
* Four Lake Country, ' than at any other point south of 
the Wisconsin river. They seemed to cling to Madison, 
#id its beautiful lakes, with a determination not to leave 
until called to the ' Spirit land.' These beautiful lakes, the 
fisheries, and game, the splendid country bordering on the 
lakes, the hills, dales, and groves, had become so associ- 
ated with their very being, that it was to them a paradise 
on earth. 

1 This description of Madison is partly taken from an interesting 
pamphlet, compiled by Lyman C. Draper, Esq., Cor. Secretary of the 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin, and printed by order of the 
Common Council of the city. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT. 101 

''The General Government required the removal of the 
Indians to the country west of the Mississippi. It was 
found necessary to procure the aid of the army in removing 
them to their homes, and it was a difiScult matter for the 
soldiers to collect them together. It was a touching scene 
to witness the departure of those who had spent a lifetime 
in a land made so beautiful by nature, from which they 
were now to be exiled. The different emotions exhibited 
by these ' Sons of the Forest,' were worthy the pencil of 
the painter. They were leaving the land of their fatliers, 
the spot dearest to them on earth : passing westward, upon 
reaching University Hill, they took a long and last fare- 
well of the spot endeared to them by early associations. 
The groves and lakes on which they had sported from 
childhood, where they had followed the flying deer, and 
impelled the light canoe, were to be seen no more." 

The site of Madison attracted the attention of Hon. 
James H. Doty, as early as 1832. In the spring of 1836, 
in company with Hon. S. T. Mason, of Detroit, he pur- 
chased the tract of land occupied by the present city. 
The first cost of this tract was about $1500. The Territo- 
rial Legislature, which met at Belmont, Lafayette County, 
the next winter, passed an act locating the capital here, 
and John Catlin and Moses M. Strong staked out the 
centre of the village in February of the same winter. In 
the meantime, commissioners were appointed by the General 
Government to construct the capitol edifice. Eben Peck 
was sent on, with his family, to erect a house, where the 
men, employed in building the capitol, might board and 
lodge, and was the first settler at Madison. He arrived 
on the 14th of April, in 1837, and put up a log house, 
which remains standing to this day upon its original site, 
on block lOY, Butler Street. This was, for about a year, 
the only public house in Madison. 



108 MADISON. 

On the 10th of June succeeding, A. A. Bird, the acting 
commissioner for constructing the capitol, accompanied by 
a party of thirty-six workmen, arrived. There was no 
road, at that time, from Milwaukee to the capital, and the 
party were compelled to make one for their teams and 
wagons as they came along. 

Among the party that came with Bird, was Darwin 
Clark, Charles Bird, David Hyer, and John Pierce ; the 
latter being the second settler with a family. 

On the same day that this party reached Madison, Simeon 
Mills, now a resident of Madison, arrived from Chicago. 
John Catlin had been appointed postmaster, and Mr. M. 
acted as his deputy. He erected a block building, fifteen 
feet square, and in this opened the post-ofiBce, and the first 
store in Madison. The building is yet extant, and at 
present stands in the rear of a blacksmith's shop, and is 
used as a coal-house. 

During the following month, John Catlin arrived, and 
was the first member of the legal^profession that settled in 
Madison. Wm. N. Seymour came during the same season, 
and was the second lawyer in the place. 

The workmen upon the capitol proceeded at once to 
procure stone and timber for that edifice, and, on the 
Fourth of July, the corner-stone was laid with due cere- 
mony. 

The first frame building erected was a small office for the 
acting commissioner; the first frame dwelling was built by 
A. A. Bird. The boards used in these buildings were 
made by hand. A steam saw-mill, to saw lumber for the 
capitol, was built the same season on the shore of Lake 
Mendota, just below the the termination of Pinkney Street. 
In the month of September, of the same year, John Stone 
arrived, being the third settler with a family. A Methodist 



SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH. 109 

clerrryman, the Rev. Mr. Stehbins, then Presiding^ Elder 
of the Territory, during the same month preached the first 
sermon delivered in Madison. 

Four families, with their inmates and guests, constituted 
the entire population of Madison, and, with two or three 
families at Blue Mounds, the whole population of Dane 
County during the winter of 1837-8. 

For a number of years the growth of the village was 
slow. Immediately after the location of the capital, all the 
lands in the vicinity were entered by speculators, and lots 
and land were held at a prospective value. The location 
being at a central point between the Mississippi and Lake 
Michigan, the advancing army of immigrants, on either 
hand, found a wide, fertile, and beautiful extent of country, 
at that time nearer market, and therefore holding out supe- 
rior attractions to the agriculturist. They did not, conse- 
quently, care to indulge the speculators' appetites for fancy 
prices. This condition of affairs continued until 1848. In 
the meantime, the fertile valley of Rock River had been 
filled with settlers, and immigration began to turn into 
Dane County, which possesses a soil as bountiful, and a 
surface of country as attractive, as any county in the State, 
but which, before it was tapped by railroads, was too far 
from market to render agriculture remunerative. 

The beginning of the real prosperity and growth of 
Madison commenced with the admission of the State into 
the Union, in 1848. The Constitutional Convention then 
permanently located the capital there; until that time there 
had been fears of its removal, and capitalists had hesitated 
to invest their money in the vicinity. Since that period, 
its progress in wealth and population has been rapid and 
constant. 

A period of less than twenty-one years has elapsed 
10 



110 MADISON. 

since Eben Peck, the first settler of Madison, arrived there 
with his family. The only other settlers, within the present 
limits of Dane County, were Ebenezer Brigham and Abel 
Rasdel. At the close of the next nine years, we find 
Madison with a population of 283, and Dane County 
8289 ; and the following nine years swelled the population 
of Madison to nearly 7000, in February, 1855, and to 
about 12,000 at the present date. Such are the results 
produced in twenty years, some of which were periods 
utterly unfavorable to progress and settlement. Until the 
past three years it had no railroad facilities ; produce, from 
its long distance from market, would scarcely recompense 
the toiling farmer for his labor in its production ; the whole 
population, with scarcely an exception, were struggling in 
poverty against these discouraging and depressing influ- 
ences — and yet, despite them all, Madison and Dane 
County have made astonishing advances in all the elements 
of wealth and greatness. These days and years of poverty, 
hardship, and depression, have forever passed away, and 
our political metropolis and empire county may now safely 
calculate on continued and increasing prosperity. 

Dane County has an area of about 1250 square miles, or 
nearly 800,000 acres of land. Dating back from 183T, 
when Madison received its first settler, and when this 
county had but two families, we find that it has increased 
during the first seven years, up to 1844, about fifty per 
cent, annually, and from 1844 to 1850, when the population 
was 16,500, the total increase for that period was over 
three hundred per cent. Since 1850, the population of 
the county has nearly tripled, and may be safely estimated 
at 48,000. Let us make some moderate estimates of the 
population of Dane County for the next ten years, based 
upon the present population of 48,000: 



CAPABILITIES AND DESTINY. Ill 

In 1857, add one-fifth increase 48,000 

In 1858, " one-sixth " 56,000 

In 1859, " one-seventh " 64,000 

In 1860, " one-eighth " 72,000 

In 1861, " one-ninth " 80,000 

In 1862, " one-tenth " 88,000 

In 1863, " one-eleventh " 96,000 

In 1864, " one-twelfth " 104.000 

In 1865, " onc-thirt'nth " 112,000 

In 1866, " one-fourt'nth " 120,000 

The great Empire State of Wisconsin is well able to 
sustain a far greater population than that here indicated. 
But one-sixth of the land in the county is yet settled, and 
all is susceptible of culture ; and, were the other five-sixths 
settled at the same ratio per square mile, we should exhibit 
a population of 250,000 people. 

In 1755, the State of Rhode Island, slightly larger than 
Dane County, having an area of 1300 square miles, had a 
population of 35,000 — about the same as this county pos- 
sessed in 1855 ; showing that Rhode Island was ojie hun- 
dred and ninetee^i years in attaining a population which 
Dane County reached in eighteen years. The city of 
Providence, in 1800, just one hundred and sixty-four years 
after its first settlement, exhibited a population of 7600 — 
while Madison has reached that number in eighteen years. 
In the past half century, Rhode Island has slightly more 
than doubled her population, while Dane County has nearly 
tripled hers in the last sf^ue^i years ; and Providence, during 
the same period, has, upon an average, doubled its numbers 
once in twenty years, while Madison has doubled its popu- 
lation, upon an average, once in every two and a half 
years. These are fiicts which any one, curious in such sta- 
tistical contrasts, may easily put to the test by a proper 
reference to the official documents in our public libraries. 
Nor is this a solitary instance — the same careful contrasts 



112 MADISON. 

with Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Albany, 
or almost any other old settled place, will exhibit the growth 
of Madison and Dane County in quite as favorable a point 
of view. 

The question may very naturally be asked by the cautious 
inquirer, what is there to justify the belief that Dane 
County, with its surroundings, is able to sustain a city of 
twenty or perhaps fifty thousand people ? Let us again 
recur to the experience of other cities and counties. If, 
then, Rhode Island can and does support her flourishing 
capital, having a population of one-fourth of the whole 
State, Dane County, with superior advantages in her favor, 
can do at least as well. By the census of 1850, there were 
13,000 acres of land returned as improved in Dane County, 
which we may presume has increased by this time to about 
140,000 — only about one-sixth of the whole. Let, then, 
the whole be settled, and only as sijarsely per acre as that 
part now improved, and we should have six times the 
present population of 45,000, which would be 270,000. 
And if the present county population of 45,000 supports 
Madison, with 12,000 inhabitants, then a population of 
270,000 would give to Madison a ratio of 65,000 people. 

These figures may startle some — for there are always a 
goodly number in every community, who, while they are 
amazed at the progress of the past, can never make it a 
criterion by which to judge the future. 

Aside from the capital, there are thirty-four townships 
in Dane County, whose present wealth may be stated as 
follows : The improved farms, uncultivated lands, and per- 
sonal property of the resident farmers, will average to-day 
at least $500,000 to a township, making a total of 
$17,000,000. Add, for Madison, real estate and personal 
property, at least $8,000,000. This would make the total 
wealth of the county $25,000,000. 



RAILROADS. 113 

There are twenty-five wagon-roads, and seventeen dif- 
ferent mail and stage routes, diverging in every direction 
from Madison. Over seven hundred loaded teams have 
arrived here in a single day, bringing from ten to fifteen 
thousand bushels of wheat to market, with large quantities 
of other produce. Nearly 100,000 bushels of wheat alone 
w^ere marketed here in a single year. 

It is, pre-eminently, the great railroad centre of Wis- 
consin, and enjoys, in an enviable degree, all those pecu- 
liarly favorable advantages. Many of the Western cities 
rely wholly upon their projected railroads for growth and 
prosperity. But the roads and connections of Madison 
are real and bonajide, connecting it with every section of 
the Union. Four great lines diverge here : the Milwaukee 
and Mississippi ; the Milwaukee, Watertown, and Madison ; 
East and West, connecting the lakes with the Mississippi 
Kiver ; and the La Crosse and Land-Grant Roads, running 
from Madison to Lake St. Croix and the City of Superior, 
at the head of the lake. Arrangements are now being 
made for the extension of the great Illinois Central Rail- 
road, from Freeport, Illinois, to this city, thus giving a 
direct communication with Mobile and the Gulf of Mexico. 

The system connects with the Chicago, Fond du Lac, 
and Superior Road, on the east and north, and the Beloit 
and Madison Road on the south. There is no point in the 
State so readily accessible in every direction, as Madison, 
as it lies on the shortest route from New York, Philadel- 
phia, Boston, Chicago, or Milwaukee, to the Mississippi 
River. 

An abundant supply of building-material is found here. 
The most beautiful stone, easily quarried and cut, abounds 
in its immediate vicinity. Bricks may be made to an un- 
limited extent, and timber of all kinds can be commanded 
whenever needed for use. 
10* 



114 MADISON. 

It is estimated that about $1,000,000 will be expended 
ill Madison, and its vicinity, this year, upon public build- 
ings, depots, and railroads. The most prominent buildings 
and improvements, to be immediately commenced, are given 
in the following table, with their least possible cost : 

University (main edifice) $40,000 

Capitol extension 100,000 

U. S. Court Room and Post Office 50,000 

City Hall 25,000 

Fuur School Houses 24,000 

Congreojational Church 20,000 

Episcopal Church 16,000 

Catholic Church 10,000 

Insane Asylum 100,000 

Bailroad Depots, at least 15,000 

Total $400,000 

From careful estimates made, it was found that the value 
of merchandise, lumber, produce, wood, &c., marketed 

and sold during 1856, was $4,702,000 

Add value and labor 1,500,000 

" Real Estate Sales : 500,000 

Total $6,702,000 

The value of manufactures and home products, for 1856, 

was $1,265,000 

As an additional evidence of the large business of 
Madison, it may be mentioned, that eight and a half mil- 
lions pounds of freight were received at the Madison Rail- 
road Depot, during 1856, and that the total receipts in 
money, for the same period, were $2t 1,872 44. 

All kinds of manufactures, not already here, are greatly 
needed ; indeed, in this new country, where every interest 
is rapidly growing, and little is yet matured, every indus- 
trial pursuit is open to development, and invites enterprise 
and skill of all kinds. 



LIBRARIES — MISCELLANEOUS. 115 

Dane County peat-beds were discovered in 1856, and lie 
in three irregularly-shaped beds contiguous to each other, 
about six miles from Madison. It is estimated that they 
are worth not less than $1,000,000 to their fortunate 
owners, and fully three times that amount to the city, as an 
article of cheap and convenient fuel, and a first-class gene- 
rator for the Gas Works. 

Madison Libraries. — Madison must, from the nature of 
things, always be the literary emporium of the State. The 
following table exhibits the present number of volumes in 
its libraries, including only two private collections, which 
have been made to subserve public purposes, and all are 
rapidly increasing : 

Vols. 

State Library 6,000 

Executive Library 600 

State Superintendent's 500 

State Historical Society 3,500 

State University Library... 2,400 
Lyman C. Draper's Collec- 
tion on Western History, 1,500 
Madison Female Seminary, 1,000 



Yds. 

Madison Institute 700 

J. W. Hunt's Statistical Col- 
lection 300 

State Agricultural Society.. 300 

High School 300 

Sabbath-School Libraries... 1,000 



Total 18,100 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

Among the literary institutions of Madison are the State 
TJniversity, largely endowed with an income of $30,000 per 
annum ; a fully organized Commercial College ; two Female 
Seminaries and Musical Academies ; four Public Schools ; 
the State Historical Society, with its large and rare library, 
fine picture gallery and cabinet of curiosities, already far 
superior to any west of the Alleghanies ; Madison Institute, 
with its library and able professors ; State Agricultural 
Society; Dane County Agricultural Society; Madison 
Hydraulic Company ; Lake-Side Water-Cure Establish- 
ment ; the Gas-light and Coke Company ; and the Mutual 
Insurance Company. Besides these, there are five organized 



116 DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 

banks, viz. : Wisconsin, Dane County, Bank of the Capitol, 
Merchants', and State Banks, all flourishing institutions 
with large capitals. The City Cemetery occupies a fine 
situation near Lake Mendota. Dane County Bible Society 
was lately organized. There are eleven different religious 
denominations in Madison, nearly all of which have fine 
church edifices. The Press is well represented, viz. : the 
Argus and Democrat, and Patriot (Democratic), and the 
State Journal (Republican) ; published both daily and 
weekly — the Argus and Democrat also issues a tri-weekly. 
The Norske Americaner (Democratic), a Norwegian weekly ; 
the Staats Zeitung (Democratic), and Madison Zeitung 
(Republican), are German weeklies ; the Western Fireside, 
a valuable literary and family paper, is issued weekly ; the 
Wisconsin Farmer, a monthly magazine of thirty-six pages, 
is the most ably-conducted of its kind in the Northwest ; 
and the Students' Miscellany is a creditable monthly lite- 
rary magazine, published by the students of the State 
University. These several publications, together with the 
State printing, book publishing, and job work, consume 
nearly 10,000 reams of paper annually, and give employ- 
ment to 110 hands. 

DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 

Janesville, one of the most flourishing and important 
towns in the State, the county-seat of Rock County, is 
beautifully located on both sides of Rock River, forty-five 
mik'S southeast of Madison. It contains eight churches, 
three banks, several academies, seminaries, the State Insti- 
tution for the Blind, manufactories and mills of various 
kinds, and five newspapers. The Milwaukee and Missis- 
si j)pi Railroad is here intersected by the Fond du Lac and 
Rock River Road. There are other railroads in course of 
construction, which, when completed, will largely increase 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. lit 

its extensive trade. In 1846, the population was estimated 
at 400 ; in 1854, at 6000 j and, at the present time, about 
10,000. 

Beloit, a few miles distant in Kock County, near the 
south line of the State, was incorporated in 1845. It is 
finely situated on Rock River, and is amply supplied with 
water-power sufficient for manufactories and mills of every 
description. It is noted for its fine churches, spacious 
streets, and for being the seat of Beloit College, which was 
founded in 1846. The present population is about tOOO. 

Mineral Point, the county-seat of Iowa County, forty- 
seven miles distant from Madison, derives its importance 
from the rich mineral region surrounding it. Large quan- 
tities of lead and copper are exported by way of Galena. 
It is a place of active business, having several smelting- 
furuaces, six churches, banks, and many stores. 

PoTOSi is situated on Grant River, near its entrance into 
the Mississippi, fifteen miles above Dubuque. It is the 
principal depot of the mineral region of Wisconsin. Large 
quantities of lead are annually shipped in steamboats from 
the landing at the mouth of Grant River. 

Cassville, on the Mississippi river, twenty-eight miles 
above Dubuque, is a very important shipping port for the 
lead of this region. In 1853, over 990,000 pounds were 
shipped from its landing. 

Prairie du Chien, one of the oldest towns in the State, 
is on the Mississippi river, four miles above the mouth of 
the Wisconsin. It is the county-seat of Crawford county, 
and the terminus of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Rail- 
road. It contains several churches, stores, and three news- 
paper offices. 

La Crosse, the county-seat of La Crosse county, is 
beautifully situated on the Mississippi, at the mouth of the 
river of the same name. We landed here, on our way up 



118 DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 

the Mississippi, iu the summer of 1853, and can bear tes- 
timony to its astonishing increase and prosperity. At that 
time it contained some forty or fifty houses, and over 300 
inhabitants ; now its population has increased to about 
YOOO. It contains five churches, ten saw-mills, three sliin- 
gle-mills, one sash and blind mill, and an iron foundry ; 
besides, there are considerable quantities of pine lumber 
manufactured. Its merchants transact a large amount of 
business with the surrounding country, which is fast being 
settled with an industrious agricultural population. The 
claims of education have not been neglected ; a building 
was lately erected for school purposes, at a cost of $10,000. 
This city possesses peculiar advantages, from being the 
terminus of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad, which 
will be finished by 1S.58. In addition to this, the R,oot 
River Yalley and Southern Minnesota Railroad Company 
have lately received a munificent grant of land from the 
General Government, to construct their road to the Big 
Sioux river. Thus La Crosse will be the terminus of two 
of the most important railroads in the Northwest. "We 
have, therefore, every reason to expect that its future 
growth will far exceed that of the past. 

Prescott, the county-seat of Pierce county, at the con- 
fluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, is a rapidly 
increasing town, and soon to be connected with Milwaukee 
by railroad. 

Hudson, one of the most flourishing towns on Lake St. 
Croix, at the mouth of Willow river, is the capital of the 
county. The St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad 
passes through it, connecting it with that great Lake and 
Milwaukee. 

Portage City is situated at the head of navigation of 
the Wisconsin river, and on the ship canal connecting it 
with the Fox. It is a depot for large qaantities of pine 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 119 

lumber. There is now uninterrupted steamboat navigation 
from this place to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Fond du Lac, at the foot of Lake Winnebago, and 
capital of the county of the same name, is one of the most 
flourishing of the interior towns. It is connected by rail- 
roads with Milwaukee, and is the starting point of the 
Eastern Land Grant roads. Plank roads are constructed 
in several directions, giving it communication with various 
parts of the State. It has five newspapers, several bank- 
ing houses, car factories, iron foundries, many dry goods 
and other stores, and contains a population of about 8000. 

OsHKOSH stands on a site where, a few years ago, was a 
dense wilderness. Situated on Lake Winnebago, at the 
mouth of the Fox and Wolf rivers, commanding a steam- 
boat navigation of over two hundred miles, no point in the 
interior of Wisconsin possesses greater facilities for trade. 
In 1855 it had a population of 4000, and now it numbers 
nearly 10,000. Nor is this growth remarkable, when we 
consider its resources, and the demand of the surrounding 
country. The railroads, nearly completed, will connect 
this place with Lake Michigan on the east, and the Mis- 
sissippi on the west. The Fox lliver Improvement, already 
described, enables its merchants and manufacturers to ship 
their goods through to the Lower Wisconsin and Missis- 
sippi. Oshkosh is lighted with gas, and contains five churches, 
several academies, land offices, foar newspapers, seven 
hotels, fourteen grist mills, steam grist and shingle mills, 
twelve dry goods and seventy other stores, besides boiler 
factories, and other like establishments. The sales of 
several of the leading mercantile houses, for the past year, 
exceeded $163,000. The amount of lumber manufactured 
yearly, is over 25,000,000 feet. 

Kenosha, the most southerly lake port of Wisconsin, 
formerly known as Southport, but, by the good taste of its 



120 DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 

citizens, recently changed to its old Indian appellation, has 
a good harbor, and fine piers extending into the lake. Its 
imports, for 1851, were $1,968,084; exports for the same 
year, $661,250; arrivals into the harbor, toO. These 
reports are made partly upon conjecture, as the growth of 
the lake towns has been so rapid, that the ascertained 
population of one year may be scarcely more than a moiety 
of the succeeding. The city contains several churches, 
public buildings, banks, manufactories, newspapers, and is 
rapidly increasing in commerce and prosperity. 

Racine, situated on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of 
Root river, twenty-three miles southeast of Milwaukee, is 
the second city in the State in population and commerce, 
and one of the most beautiful in the West. Its commer- 
cial advantages are great ; the entrance of Root river into 
the lake forms a commodious harbor, and large sums have 
been expended for its improvement at different times. A 
large amount of grain seeks this port for an outlet. There 
are nine large storehouses, capable of containing 70,000 
bushels each. In addition to these, the railroad companies 
have capacious freight depots, for storing merchandise. 
The favorable location of this city has attracted the atten- 
tion of manufacturers, and large and profitable investments 
have been and are still making. The Board of Trade 
have prepared a statistical report of its manufactures for 
1855, the total amount of which is $1,104,605. During 
the past year, gas works have been erected, and over three 
milei! of pipe laid, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars ; also 
one church, three school buildings, two depots, two large 
ma<thine shops, one round-house with stalls for thirteen 
locomotives, several manufactories, planing and other mills, 
stores and warehouses of various kinds, several fine man- 
sions, and nearly two hundred smaller dwellings. In 1840 
it had a population of only 33t ; in 1850, 511t ; in 1853, 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 121 

Y500 ; and, in 1857, it is estimcated at 12,000. The Lake 
Shore Raih'oad, running from Chicago to Green Bay, 
makes a connection with the Racine and Mississippi Road 
at tliis place, opening to the city a vast extent of prairie 
country, depending upon the lake ports for its lumber, of 
wliich the shipments, for the first six months of the year 
1856, amounted to over 9,000,000 feet, and 4,500,000 
shingles, besides fence posts, timber, staves, &c. There 
are regular lines of steamboats touching at this port, on 
their way to Buffalo and points on Lake Superior. Three 
plank roads extend from this city into the interior ; one, 
the Wilraot road, is twenty miles long, and runs southwest, 
through a rich and fertile country, into the State of Illinois. 
In 1851, its total imports and exports were $2,507,715; 
arrivals, 1462. 

Ozaukee is a thriving place on the shore of the lake, 
thirty-one miles north of Milwaukee. Large quantities of 
produce are shipped from here in steamboats. It contains 
several churches, foundries, manufactories, breweries, news- 
papers, and many stores. The population, in 1853, was 
2500 ; now it has increased to about 5000. 

Sheboygan is situated on Lake Michigan, at the mouth 
of the river of the same name. It is one of the most im- 
portant and flourishing ports in the State, and exports 
large quantities of lumber and other articles. In 1851, 
the value of its imports exceeded $1,400,000. The Mil- 
waukee and Green Bay Railroad passes through the city, 
and, with its interior roads, and the Fond du Lac Plank 
Road, have very much increased its prosperity. It already 
contains churches of seven different denominations, manu- 
factories of various kinds, four newspapers, and bids fair 
to be one of the largest ports on the lake. 

Manitowoc is a very thriving town on the shore of Lake 
Michigan, at the mouth of the river of its own name. A 
11 



122 DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 

few years ago it was almost unknown ; but of late its com- 
merce has increased at a most surprising rate. In 1851, 
its exports amounted to $77,120, and its imports, $106,721. 
It will be shortly connected with Milwaukee and Green 
Bay by the Lake Shore Railroad. 

Two Rivers, fifteen miles above Manitowoc, is a town 
of considerable importance. The country adjacent is finely 
timbered, and furnishes large quantities of lumber for ex- 
port. Its commerce for 1851 was estimated at about 
$300,000. The entrances, for the same year, were 822 
steam and 192 sail vessels. 

Green Bay, one of the oldest settlements in the North- 
west, is beautifully situated at the mouth of the Fox or 
Neenah river, exactly at the head of a bay of the same 
name. In 1855, it contained a population of 1644; and 
now it is over 4000, being an increase of 2333 in two 
years. Such has been the immense immigration lately to 
the country tributary to it, that it has^ given new life to the 
place. For many years. Green Bay has been a great mart 
for fish and lumber, and is now rapidly becoming the 
largest commercial depot for the internal trade of Wis- 
consin. There is, at present, uninterrupted steam naviga- 
tion from this place to the Mississippi, via the Fox River 
Improvement (steamboats have been through the entire 
length of this work), which will soon be one of the greatest 
thoroughfares in the West, and destined to make a great 
revolution in the present internal trade of the country. Mr. 
Andrews' reports the commerce of Green Bay, for 1851, 
to exceed $3,000,000. At present, there are three facto- 
ries, averaging 100,000 shingles each per week ; six saw- 
mills in the city and vicinity, averaging, weekly, about 
240,000 feet ; within sixty miles there are, on each side of 
the bay, twenty-four saw-mills (mostly steam), which ave- 

1 Report on Colonial and Lake Trade. 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNS. 123 

rage, weekly, about 300,000 feet. The greater part of 
tliis lumber is sent to Cliicago and Milwaukee for market. 
There are several railroads in process of construction to 
this place; one of them, the Lake Shore Road, is partly 
graded to Manitowoc, thirty miles distant. The city con- 
tains many spacious warehouses, fine churches, and elegant 
residences, and gives promise of great future prosperity. 

There are, also, in different parts of the State, large 
nunibers of flourishing towns and villages, of wliich our 
limits forbid a mention. In fact, it would be almost an 
impossibility, so rapidly are these new places springing up. 
" In many instances, large colonies of German, Norwegian, 
and other European emigrants, have purchased tracts of 
land, and built up their villages as if by magic ; and the 
immediate neighbors are even ignorant of their presence, 
until they behold, with astonishment, the smoke curling 
over the »ew settlement." 



CHAPTER VII. 

DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES — CENSUS OF THE STATE. 

Wisconsin is divided into fiftj-one counties, of which 
we will give a short description of their soil, natural ad- 
vantages, &c. 

Adams lies on the Wisconsin, and is watered by the 
Lemonwier, and other streams. The soil is admirably 
adapted for agricultural purposes, and extremely produc- 
tive. There are many dense forests in this county, from 
which large quantities of lumber are procured, and rafted 
down the Wisconsin. Large tracts of excellent land are 
yet subject to private entry at Government price. Ger- 
mantown is the county-seat. 

Bad Axe takes its name from the river of the same name, 
which flows through it, and on which the Winnebago In- 
dians, under Black Hawk, met with their final defeat. This 
county, lying on the Mississippi river, possesses good water- 
power, and is partly prairie, interspersed with fine timber- 
land. Viroqua is the county-seat. 

Brown County, situated at the head of Green Bay, is a 
beautiful rolling country, interspersed with groves of tim- 
ber ; soil rich and deep, fine for grazing, and all spring 
crops ; good farming lands may be purchased here from $2 
to $5 per acre. De Pere is the county-seat. Green Bay, 
jN^avarino, and Bridgeport, are flourishing places. 

Buffalo, on the Mississippi river, at the mouth of the 
Chippewa, contains large quantities of the best farming 

(124) 



DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 125 

lands subject to entry or pre-emption, and is rapidly being 
settled. It is in the La Crosse Land District, and entries 
can be made only at -that place. Waumandee City is the 
county-seat. 

Calumet lies on the east side of Lake Winnebago ; is 
generally covered with a heavy growth of hard timber, 
consisting of oak, maple, &c., and small quantities of pine. 
It has a fertile soil, and is well watered ; owing to its being 
the residence of the remnants of the Stockbridge and Bro- 
thertown Indians, it has made but little progress. It has 
increased very rapidly, however, the past year. 

Chippewa. — This county is 91 miles long and 66 wide ; 
it lies in the northern part of the State, and is watered by 
the river of the same name, and its tributaries. The land 
is of excellent quality, subject to pre-emption, and con- 
taining some of the most valuable pineries in Wisconsin. 

Columbia County is situated nearly in the centre of the 
most thickly settled part of the State. The soil is good, 
well watered by the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, but defi- 
cient in timber. The land was all entered almost as soon 
as it was in market. The La Crosse and Milwaukee, and 
the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroads, pass tlirough 
this county. Population, in 1850, was 9,565; in 1856, 
29,000; an increase, in six years, of 19,435. 

Crawford formerly was of great extent, including 
nearly the whole space northerly from the Wisconsin to the 
Michigan State line. A few years ago it was reduced to 
a small territory, containing about 600 square miles. It 
lies on the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers, and has a 
varifty of soil and diversified scenery. Quantities of lead, 
and some copper, have been found. There is also an 
abundance of valuable timber, especially white pine, on the 
Wisconsin. Much good Government land is yet to be 
found. 

11* 



126 DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 

Clark. — Large quantities of excellent farming land are 
to be had in this county, at Government price. Extensive 
pine forests abound ; there are few inhabitants as yet, con- 
sisting principally of lumbermen. 

Dane. — The description of this county is included with 
that of Madison, the capital of the State, 

Door is a narrow peninsula, between Green Bay and 
Lake Michigan, with very few inhabitants. It was sepa- 
rated from Brown County in 1850. Soil said to be good. 

Dodge, named in honor of General Dodge, first Governor 
of Wisconsin, is one of the finest agricultural counties in 
the State ; its surface moderately rolling, diversified by 
prairies, oak openings, and heavy woodlands. Iron Ridge 
is a vast accumulation of rich iron. ore, which is just be- 
ginning to be extensively manufactured. Several railroads 
pass through this county, giving access for agricultural 
productions to Milwaukee. The capital is Juneau ; Ho- 
ricon, Beaver Dam, and Fox Lake, are thriving villages, 
and rapidly improving. Population, at present, over 
44,000. 

Douglas, the most northwestern county in the State, 
lying partly on Lake Superior. Only a small part has 
been surveyed and brought into market. The soil is ad- 
mirably adapted for all kinds of agricultural productions ; 
we have seen specimens raised, which, in quality and size, 
far exceeded those produced in the Uaster^n States. The 
land abounds with mineral wealth, and the waters with fish. 
The St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad, commenced 
in 1856, will be completed next year to St. Paul. This 
county is at the head of a long line of lake navigation, and 
will, in less than three years at furthest, be in connection 
with the Atlantic cities by continuous railroads. To those 
seeking a home, and fine farming, timber, and mineral 
lands, contiguous to railroads, at $1.25 per acre, there is 



DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 12t 

no county in the State which offers such inducements to 
settlers as Douglas. The first settlement was made at the 
City of Superior, the county-seat, in 1853. Wahbagon, 
on the St. Louis, and Nashodana on the railroad, where 
it crosses the St. Croix river, have recently been laid out. 

Dunn, a new county, lying on the Chippewa river, about 
fifty miles from the Mississippi. The soil is excellent, well 
watered, and abounds in timber. Lands, as yet, unsur- 
veyed. 

Fond du Lac, one of the most fertile counties in the 
State, containing extensive prairies, and quantities of heavy 
timber. It was first settled in 1835, and has progressed 
with great rapidity. 

Grant. — This county is situated in the southwest corner 
of the State, and was one of the first settled. Lying within 
the mineral tract, it has a very valuable deposit of lead 
ore. The soil is excellent. There is yet in the northern 
part of this county excellent Government land, which, by 
the graduation law, is now reduced to fifty cents per acre. 

Green, in the southern part of the State, bordering on 
Illinois, is an agricultural county ; partly rich prairie land, 
with some timber. 

Iowa. — This is one of the richest counties in Wisconsin, 
both in soil and mineral resources. Copper and lead are 
abundant. It is well watered, convenient to railroads, and 
is the central point for mineral operations. The celebrated 
Blue Mounds, in its northwestern part, are remarkable ele- 
vations, being 1000 feet above the level of the Wisconsin 
river. 

Jackson County is situated on the Black river, about 
twenty-five miles from the Mississippi. The northern part 
is richly supplied with fine timber, and the southern is 
mostly prairie, of the best quality. There is, also, an 
abundance of rich iron ore, and good water-power. The 
lands are open to pre-emption. 



128 DESCRIPTION or COUNTIES. 

Jefferson possesses a rich, fertile soil, well watered, and 
traversed by railroads. The principal place is Watertown ; 
Jefferson, Aztalan, and Lake Mills, are flourishing villages. 
It contains over 47,000 inhabitants. 

Juneau, lately separated from Dodge County, contains, 
at present, a population of 10,600. 

Kenosha, a county forming the southeastern extremity 
of Wisconsin. It is one of the oldest in the State, and 
under high cultivation, 

Kewaunee lies partly on Lake Michigan and Green 
Bay, and contains about 460 square miles ; its inhabitants 
are few, and principally engaged in lumbering. Plenty of 
Government land to be had. 

La Crosse County possesses farming lands of the best 
quality, and vast pineries on the Black river and its tribu- 
taries. These combined advantages have attracted great 
attention for the past two years, and much of the land is 
already occupied, yet some good Government land can be 
found. Population, in 1856, about 11,000. 

Lafayette is situated in the mineral region, bordering 
on Illinois. The soil is generally productive, but has been 
neglected for the more uncertain business of mining. The 
cliff limestone, which underlies this county, abounds in rich 
Teins of lead and copper, and large quantities of these 
minerals are exported. The famous Platte Mounds, in the 
northwest part, are remarkable for their regular form, and 
are surrounded with a large expanse of prairie. 

La Pointe County, bordering on Lake Superior, is 
extensively covered by forests of pine timber. It has not 
been surveyed, and, therefore, very little is known of its soil 
and mineral resources. The fisheries are very valuable, 
and the exports from this source are increasing every year. 
La Pointe, one of the oldest settlements in the Northwest, 
is the county-seat. Bayfield, Ashland, and Bay City, are 



DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 129 

towns lately laid out, which are rapidly rising in im- 
portance. 

Marathon extends from the Upper Peninsula of Michi- 
gan, south to Towns 25 and 26, containing 5452 square 
miles. It is partly surveyed, and begins to open a field 
for lumbering. The Wisconsin River traverses its whole 
length, opening extensive pine forests to market. No part 
of the State offers greater inducements to lumbermen than 
this. 

Marquette. — Some of the finest and best cultivated 
farms are to be found in this county. It consists of prairie, 
openings, and wood-land, well watered, &c. The best lands 
are all entered, and are rapidly coming under cultivation. 

Manitowoc, in the eastern part of the State, bordering 
on Lake Michigan, has good land, and is well watered ; 
large quantities of timber are exported. It is rapidly 
increasing in business, and has a population of 20,000. 

Monroe County, separated from La Crosse in 1854, is 
yet almost an entire wilderness, consisting of oak openings 
and pine groves ; the soil is rich and productive, principally 
Government land, from which good selections can yet be 
made. Population estimated at TOOO. 

Milwaukee contains a population at present of about 
TO, 000, and is too generally known to require a notice in 
this work. 

Oconto. — This county lies partly between Michigan and 
Green Bay, containing about 4000 square miles, and 
covered with valuable timber. Large tracts are open to 
pre-emptors at Government price. 

Outagamie possesses a fertile soil, mostly covered with 
forests of pine and other timber, and well watered. Lands 
may be procured at Government price. 

Ozaukee is on Lake Michigan, north of Milwaukee. 
The soil is rich, well cultivated, and divided into small 
farms. 



130 DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 

Pierce lies on the Mississippi, at the month of the 
St. Croix River. The soil is very good, partly covered 
with pine forests. Land mostly subject to pre-emption. 

Polk, formerly included in St. Croix County, comprises 
over 2500 square miles, has much good farming and timber- 
lands subject to entry. Timber, prairie, and openings, are 
beautifully interspersed in the southern part. It offers 
peculiar inducements to the settler, on account of the 
St. Croix and Lake Superior Kailroad passing through it, 
and is destined in a few years to be one of the most import- 
ant counties in the State. 

Portage County is on the Wisconsin River, and several 
of its branches pass through it. Lumbering is its great 
business ; pine is the prevailing timber. The soil is partly 
light and sandy, with occasional strips of the best quality, 
adapted to all kinds of agricultural productions. 

Racine lies on the lake, south of Milwaukee, and is too 
generally known to require description. 

Rock River is highly prosperous, containing farms 
well-improved, productive, and valuable. Railroads tra- 
verse every part. 

P».iCHLAND, lying on the north bank of the Wisconsin 
River, on both sides of the fourth principal meridian, is- 
but thinly settled, possessing a good soil, well watered, and 
timbered with maple, walnut, oak, and pine, interspersed 
with rich prairies. Large quantities of land are yet open 
to pre-emption. 

Sauk County contains about 800 square miles, consist- 
ing of forests, openings, and prairies. The soil is rich, 
and well adapted to agricultural purposes. There is much 
unsettled land here, belonging to Government. 

Sheboygan is too well known to require a notice. 

Siiawaung contains large quantities of Government land. 
The soil consists of a sandy loam, mostly covered with 
pine timber, which is easily floated down the Wolf River. 



DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 131 

St. Croix. — This county is finely situated upon the 
Mississippi River, and has very superior advantages for 
the lumber-trade. It has great forest wealth, and is now 
attracting much attention. The surface is generally rolling, 
composed of prairie, openings, and forests, of the best pine 
and other kinds of timber. 

Trempeleau contains about twenty townships of land 
of an excellent quality for farming purposes, offering great 
inducements to emigrants, as the lands are now in market 
at Government price. 

Washington, a few miles back from Lake Michigan, is 
heavily timbered, has good soil, and is principally settled 
by Germans and Irish. Population, at present, over 
25,000. 

Waupacca is new, lying on both sides of the "Wolf 
Kiver, possesses plenty of Government land, well watered, 
consisting of prairie, openings, timber, and extensive pine 
forests. Steamboats pass through this county from Osh- 
kosh to New London. 

Waukesha and Walworth are both too well known to 
require a description. 

Waushara, an excellent agricultural county, formerly 
known as the " Lidian lands," offers strong inducements 
to emigrants, in its fortunate combination of openings and 
timber-land. - It is well watered, and there are yet large 
quantities of Government land open to settlers. Population 
in 1856, about 34,000. 

Winnebago, one of the finest counties in the State, lies 
on the west side of the lake of the same name. Its surface 
is gently rolling, and beautifully diversified with woodland, 
openings, prairie, and native hay-fields. Improved farms 
can be obtained, of all classes, at from ten to twenty dollars 
per acre ; good unimproved lands, from three to ten. 
dollars. 



132 



CENSUS OF WISCONSIN. 



CENSUS OF WISCONSIN, FROM 1820 TO 1855. 



COUNTIES. 


1820 


1830 


1834 


1836 


1838 


1840 


1842 


1846 


1847 


1850 


1855 


Adams 












18; 


6,868 


liad Axe 






















4.823 


Brown 


952 


904 


1957 


2706 


3048 


2107 


2140 


2,(62 


'2,91. 


6,223 


6,699 


Buffalo 























832 


C:»lumet 












275 


407 


836 


'1,060 


1.74( 


3.131 


Chippewa... 






















616 


3,t3S 


Cliiik 






















838 


Columbia... 

















1,969 


3,79 i 


'9,56.:. 


17,905 


Crawford ... 


492 


092 


810 


1220 


850 


1503 


1449 


1,444 


1,409 


2,39y 


3.32J 












172 


31*4 


776 


8,289 


10 9o6 


16,654 
19,140 


37 714 


Dodge 










18 


67 


149 


7,787 


14,906 


34,5-10 


l)oor 























739 


Douglas 






















386 
























1,550 
24,784 


Fond du Lac 












139 


295 


'3,544 


7,459 


14,512 


Grant , 










2763 


3926 


5937 


12,034 


11,720 


16,169 


23.176 










"sii's 


494 
5234 


930 
3078 


1594 
5029 


4.758 
14,906 


6.487 
7,963 


8,5So 
10,479 


14,727 
16,206 


Iowa 




1589 


2033 


Jackson 






















1.U9S 












463 


914 


1G3S 


8,860 


il,46i 


15,339 


•^6 8 "9 


Kewauuee .. 




















1,109 


Kenosha .... 




















10,730 


12,307 


La Crosse ... 






















3,9U4 


La Fayette .. 



















9,336 


ll,55t; 


16,064 


La Pointe ... 


















364 


595 


417 


Manitowoc . 












236 


263 


629 


1,286 


3,71- 


13,048 


Maratbon... 




















46(j 


1.447 


Marquette .. 












is 


59 


986 


2,261 


8,64. 


14,873 


Milwaukee . 









28*92 


3131 


5607 


9566 


15,922 


22,791 


31,11'.. 


46,265 


Monroe 






















2,407 


Oconto 






















1,601 


Outagamie . 








• •••> 














4.914 


Ozaukee 






















12,973 


Pierce 






















1,720 


Polk 






















547 


Portage 












1623 


646 


931 


1,504 
19 23b 


1,267 


5 161 












2054 


3475 


6318 


17 983 


14 971 


20 67o 


Richland ... 




















90o 


5,584 


Kock 












1701 


2867 


12,405 


14,720 


30,717 


31,364 


St. Croix 

















1,419 


1.674 


624 


2,040 


Sauk 












102 


393 


1,003 


2,178 


4,37:^ 


13,614 


Shawauno.. 





..... 


















264 


Slieboygan . 












133 


227 


1,637 


5,58u 


8,38b 


20,391 


Trempeleau 
Walworth ... 










1019 


2611 


4618 


lJ3,'4i39 
7.473 


i5,'639 
15,447 


17,861 ( 


493 
22 662 








Washington 










64 


343 


965 


19.476 


18.897 


Waukesha.. 
















13,793 


16,860 


19,324 


24,012 


Waupacca .. 






















4.437 


Waushara .. 






















5,541 
17,439 


Winnebago. 
Total 


1444 


;245 


olOU 




19,310 


135 

29,276 


143 
45,484 


732 


2,74.^ 


10,167 


10,030< 


155,441 


210,117 


316,404 


562,109 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GRANTS OF LAND BY CONGRESS — LA CROSSE AND MILWAU- 
KEE ; CHICAGO, ST. PAUL AND FOND DU LAC ; AND OTHER 
RAILROADS. 

Wisconsin, altbongli one of the youngest States of the 
confederacy, is now, considering the time of its settlement, 
much better supplied with railroad communications than 
any other State in the Union. The General Government, 
with those broad and comprehensive views, which should 
always distinguish it, of the necessity for promoting internal 
improvements, and for assisting young and enterprising 
States, upon the recommendation of the Committee of the 
House of Representatives,' lately passed the following Act 

1 This grant will complete a great north and south trunk road, 
from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior and the Upper Missis- 
sippi ; will develop the most valuable iron and copper mines, which 
are sufficient to supply the necessities of the world for ages to come, 
and distribute their products throughout the States. It will pene- 
trate the extensive northern pineries, and, by rail and river, furnish 
lumber to all the West and South. It will speedily settle an im- 
mense wilderness, destined to remain unoccupied for a quarter of a 
century to come, without some such aid. The alternate sections re- 
maining to Government will not only sell readily, and for a greater 
amount, but are actually more profitable with the road through 
them, than the whole without such a road. This measure will 
greatly increase the wealth, prosperity, and power of Wisconsin as a 
State, and also add to the comfort and general prosperity of its 
citizens. 

Capital, enterprise, and industry from other States, will find in 
12 (133) 



134 GRANTS OP LAND 

granting public lands to Wisconsin, to aid in the construc- 
tion of railroads. 

Section 1. Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United Slates of America, in Congress assembled, That there be, 
and is hereby, granted to the State of Wisconsin, for the purpose of 
aiding in the construction of a railroad from Madison, or Columbus, 
by the way of Portage City, to the St. Croix river or lake, between 
townships twenty-five and thirty-one, and from thence to the west 
end of Lake Superior, and to Bayfield ; and, also, from Fond du 
Lac, on Lake Winnebago, northerly to the State line, every alternate 
section of land designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width 
on each side of said roads, respectively. But in case it shall appear 
that the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads 
are definitely fixed, sold any sections or parts thereof granted as 
aforesaid, or that the right of pre-emption has attached to the same, 
then it shall be lawful for any agent, or agents, to be appointed by 
the Governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the 
Secretary of the Interior, from the lauds of the United States nearest 
to the tier of sections above specified, as much land, in alternate 
sections, or parts of sections, as shall be equal to such lands as the 
United States have sold or otherwise appropriated, or to which the 
right of pre-emption has attached as aforesaid, which lands (thus 
selected in lieu of those sold, and to which pre-emption has attached 
as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections, desig- 
nated by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid) 
shall be held by the State of Wisconsin for the use and purpose 
aforesaid: Provided, That the lands to be so located shall in no case 
be further than fifteen miles from the line of the roads in each case, 
and selected for and on account of said roads : Provided further. That 
the lands hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the con- 
struction of the road for which it was granted and selected, and shall 
be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be 

Wisconsin sure promise of a rich reward, and by thus invigorating 
one member of the confederacy, strength is given to the whole body 
politic, and bonds of aflFection will be created that will grow stronger, 
year by year, until they shall become indissoluble, and furnish the 
surest guarantee of the perpetuity of this glorious Union. — Abstract 
of the Report of the Committee on Public Lands. 



BY CONGRESS. 135 

applied to no other purpose ■whatever. And provided further. That 
any and all lands reserved to the United States by any Act of Con- 
gress, for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, 
or in any manner or for any purpose whatsoever, be, and the same 
are hereby, reserved to the United States from the operation of this 
act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the route 
of said railroad through such reserved lands, in which case the right 
of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President 
of the United States. 

Sect. 2. And be it further enacted. That the sections and parts of 
sections of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United 
States, within six miles on each side of said roads, shall not be sold 
for less than double the minimum price of the public lands, when 
sold ; nor shall any of the said lands become subject to private entry 
until the same have been first offered at public sale at the increased 
price. 

Sect. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said lands hereby 
granted to said State shall be subject to the disposal of the Legis- 
lature thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, and no other; and the 
said railroads shall be and remain public highways for the use of the 
Government of the United States, free from toll or other charge 
upon the transportation of property or troops of the United States. 

Sect. 4. A ?id be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted 
to said State shall be disposed of by said State only in the manner 
following, that is to say: That a quantity of land not exceeding one 
hundred and twenty sections, and included within a continuous 
length of twenty miles of roads respectively, may be sold ; and when 
the Governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Inte- 
rior that any twenty continuous miles of either of said roads are 
completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted may 
be sold ; and so, from time to time, until said roads are completed ; 
and if said roads are not completed within ten years, no further 
sales shall be made, and the land unsold shall revert to the United 
States. 

Sect. 5. And be it further enacted, That the United States mail 
shall be transported over said roads, under the direction of the Post- 
office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: 
Provided, That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster- 
General shall have the power to determine the same. 

Approved June 3, 1856. 



136 LA CROSSE AND 

As this munificent grant to the State was to be applied 
in such manner as its Legislature should determine, it be- 
came a question, whether the construction of these roads 
ought to be undertaken by the State directly, under its 
officers and agents, or by some delegated authority. The 
Legislature decided that the mode of applying the grant 
should be through the medium of incorporated companies. 
The lands on the east side of the State were given to a 
new company, authorized and required to construct a first- 
class road from Fond du Lac, the present terminus of the 
Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad, to Supe- 
rior, at the west end of Lake Superior, touching the 
Michigan line, and giving a connection to the Michigan 
roads from Marquette and Ontonagon. On the western 
side, they were granted to the La Crosse and Milwaukee 
Railroad, from Madison to Hudson, and the city of Supe- 
rior. The following are extracts from an Act passed in 
relation to the latter Company, and approved June 3, 1856 : 

The People of the Slate of Wisconsin, represented in Senate and Asse?n- 
hly, do enact as follows : 

Section 1. The La Crosse and Milwaukee Bailroad Company is 
hereby authorized and empowered to survey, locate, construct, com- 
plete, and perpetually to have, use, maintain, and opei-ate railroads 
■with one or more tracks or lines, from the city of Madison, in the 
county of Dane, and from the village of Columbus, in the county of 
Columbia, on the most direct and feasible route, by the way of Portage 
City, to the St. Croix river or lake, between townships twenty-five 
and thirty-one, and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior, 
and to Bayfield ; and shall have, possess, exercise and enjoy the 
same rights, privileges, functions, franchises, authority and immu- 
nities with reference to the said routes, or any railroad to be built 
thereon, as it now possesses or enjoys with reference to any route 
it is now authorized to occupy, or any railroad built or to be built 
thereon ; and there is hereby conferred upon the La Crosse and Mil- 
waukee Railroad Company, all the power and authority contained in 



MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. 137 

tlie charter of said Company, and in the acts amendatory thereof, for 
the purpose of carrying out the objects of this act, and of appro- 
priating and applying the hinds hereinafter in this act granted, or 
their proceeds, to aid in the construction of railroads by this act 
authorized to be built. 

Sect, 2. The said roads shall be constructed on the most direct 
and feasible routes from Madison to Portage City, and from Colum- 
bus to Portage City, and simultaneously as nearly as practicable ; 
and both of them shall be completed by the last day of December, 
A. D. 1858. And for the purpose of estimating and selectino- lands 
granted by Congress, the city of Madison is hereby designated as 
the point of commencement of said road, and the whole of the rail- 
road hereby authorized to be constructed, shall be constructed by 
said La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company, within ten years 
from the third day of June, A. D. 1856. 

Sect. 4. For the purpose of aiding in the construction of the rail- 
roads — which, by this act, the said La Crosse and Milwaukee Rail- 
road Company is authoi'ized to construct — all the interest and estate, 
present and prospective, of this State, in, or to any, and all the lands 
granted by the Government of the United States to the State of Wis- 
consin, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad 
from Madison or Columbus, by way of Portage City, to the St. Croix 
river or lake, between townships twenty-five and thirty-one, and 
from thence to the west end of Lake Superior, and to Bayfield, by 
virtue of an Act of Congress, entitled "An Act granting a portion of 
the public lands to the State of Wisconsin, to aid in the construction 
of railroads," approved June 3d, 1856, together with all and singular 
the rights, privileges and immunities conferred, or intended to be 
conferred, by the said Act of Congress, are hereby granted to the 
said La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company : Provided, That 
the said land shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that 
road, for which it was granted and selected : and shall be disposed 
of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no 
other purpose whatsoever: And provided further, That the title to sai-d 
lands shall vest in the said La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Com- 
pany, &c., &c. 

On the nth day of October, 1856, the above grant was 
accepted, and the terms and conditions of the Act of 
Legislature agreed to, by the La Crosse and Milwaukee 
12* 



138 • LA CROSSE AND 

Company, and their railroads were divided into the follow- 
ing divisions, for the purposes of construction, viz : The 
Eastern Division, embracing the road from Milwaukee to 
Poi'ta.2;e City ; the Western, from that point to La Crosse ; 
the Watei'town, from Milwaukee to Portage City ; the 
Northwestern, commonly called the St. Croix and Lake 
Superior Railroad, from its intersection with this river or 
lake to the west end of Lake Superior ; and the Portage 
Division, extending from Madison to Portage City. The 
stock of each of them to be separate and distinct from the 
others, until they are all completed, or ii! running order. 
Then it will become a part of the general stock of the 
Company. 

The routes of these divisions were immediately surveyed. 
Moses M, Strong, Esq., Land Commissioner of this Com- 
pany, in his Report to the Board of Directors, says : — 
"The land which we are entitled to amounts to six sections 
of 640 acres for every mile between Madison and St. 
Croix, upon whatever route shall be adopted. This is 
equal to oS-lO acres for every mile of road. If the route 
by Point Basse be adopted, the distance will be 268 miles, 
and the quantity of land would be 1,029,120 acres. No 
precise information can, of course, be had in relation to the 
character and description of every particular tract of land, 
until the lands which are to vest in the Company are deter- 
mined upon ; but enough is known to satisfy us that the 
country, upon the whole line of the road, is well adapted 
to settlement and cultivation ; and it is believed, that not 
a single forty-acre tract will be found that will not be valu- 
able for farming purposes. All the lauds will be between 
latitude 43° 30' and 45° 10' north, and longitude 12° 45' 
and 15° 55' west from Washington. In the whole of this 
territory, embracing an area of about 20,000 square miles, 
there are no mountains. And while there are quite a num- 



MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. 139 

ber of small prairies, many of them are not more than three 
or four miles from timber. The lands selected will, of 
course, be the most valuable that can be procured, and 
every forty-acre tract will be suitable for farming purposes.' 

"All the rivers and smaller streams which water the 
country through which the road will pass, furnish numerous 
water-powers and facilities for manufacturing establish- 
ments. Upon these will be erected saw and grist mills to 
supply the first demands of the inhabitants, and to enable 
them to prosecute, with profit, their agricultural and lum- 
bering pursuits. It is also known that extensive deposits 
of iron ore exist in various localities between Portage City 
and Lake Superior. 

"In forming an opinion of the value of the lands, they 
should be viewed with all the advantages they will possess 
after the road is constructed. All suitable for cultivation ; 
none more than fifteen miles, and a large proportion within 
six miles of the railroad, possessing every desirable facility 
for fencing, fuel, water, and for cheap building materials, 
with all the adjacent lands purchased, owned, and occupied 
by an enterprising and industrious population, there can 
be no reason why they should not command as high prices 
as those in the more southern part of the State, of no 
greater intrinsic value, nor possessing greater railroad 
facilities." 

From the last Report of the President of the La Crosse 
and Milwaukee Kailroad Company, we learn that none of 
these lands will be offered for sale until the road shall be 
completed to St. Croix, and in operation a year, which 
will be- in about four years from the present. During this 
period, the lands remaining to the Government along the 
route, will no doubt he jjj^e-emjjted the whole distance, 
and the country generally advanced in improvements. The 

1 For a description of these lauds, see page 42. 



140 ' LA CROSSE AND 

land then owned by this Company will be the only land in 
market, and will readily command the highest prices ; and 
being sold on a long credit, with small annual payments, 
ivill enable the better class of actual settlers to purchase 
at fair prices. 

"Sales being made in this manner, and subject to the 
payment of seven per centum per annum interest, and the 
principal in a term of years, will readily produce the 
following results : 

"10,000 acres, emTiraoing village-sites, valuable water-powers, 

mines, Ac, at $100 per acre $1,000,000 

200.000 acres first-class farming-land near the line, with 

smaller water-powers and other privileges, $20 per acre, 4,000,000 
300,000 acres of farming-lands, <fee., further from the road, 

$15 per acre 4,500,000 

350,000 acres of farming-lands, at still greater distance from 

the road, $10 per acre 3,500,000 

123,000 acres of inferior land, $5 per acre 615,000 



Total.... $13,615,000 

" These lands are among the most valuable in the western 
country, and, instead of falling below, their value will 
exceed the above estimate. No one acquainted with the 
rapid growth and improvement of the West, can entertain 
a doubt that they will command a price far above that we 
have given. 

■'The length of road from Madison to St. Croix is 256 
miles ; from Portage City to La Crosse is 101 miles ; from 
which deduct 36 miles, which, in common with the other, 
leaves 65 miles to complete the road to La Crosse ; 
adding to this, 20 miles finished from Columbus to the 
intersection of the La Crosse Road, gives a total of 341 
miles to be constructed in the completion of our system. 
Estimating the cost at $30,000 per mile, to include all 



MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. 141* 

expenses, would give a grand total of $10,230,000, which 
is $3,385,000 less than the value of the land alone. 

"A mere glance at the map exhibits our commanding 
position, and carries conviction to the mind without argu- 
ment, that it is the only great artery along which must 
flow the business of the largest scope of the finest country 
which can be found tributary to anyone road in the United 
States. The business of the Upper Mississippi surprises 
every one who visits that region. There are now some 
fifty steamboats plying on the river above Galena, and all 
doing a full and profitable business. The travel alone, to 
and from there, which would pass over the railroad at this 
time, if completed to La Crosse, would make it one of the 
best paying roads in the country." This branch will be 
completed in less than a year, and the company in posses- 
sion of the most northerly through and direct route from 
the. Lake to the Mississippi River, and of course take the 
greatest part of the through travel, in addition to the freight 
and way business of one of the finest farming-districts in 
the world. '* 

When -this division is completed, a railroad will have 
been commenced on the west bank of the Mississippi, across 
the vast expanse of plain some 500 miles, making tributary 
to it the southern part of Minnesota ; while from the St. 
Croix and Lake Superior Road, a branch to St. Paul will 
be in the full tide of successful operation ; and thence 
extending through the central part of Minnesota, on the 
great route towards the Pacific. Railroad facilities will be 
rapidly furnished, bringing to the La Crosse and Mil- 
waukee Road the rich tribute of the central tract of that 
State ; while yet again, the St. Croix and Lake Superior 
division, to the City of Superior, will bring the valuable 
trade of Northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, 



142 CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND 

besides tlie vast amount of freight and pleasure-travel whicli 
will land at this young and rising city, 

" The position and facilities of the La Crosse and Mil- 
waukee Railroad will be such, as almost with certainty 
give it the greatest part of the trade of the Upper Missis- 
sippi, embracing the whole of Minnesota and one-half of 
Wisconsin, both equal to an area of two of the largest 
States in the Union, and an amount of business beyond 
computation." 

The earnings of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Road, as 
far as completed, in 1856, have considerably exceeded the 
estimates, and, in fact, have been greater than can be 
shown in the history of any railroad in America, of the 
same distance and first year of its operation. The total 
amount, up to 1857, was $505,083 86. The earnings of 
the eastern division, for May, 185t, were $63,221 70, being 
an increase of $21,745 7T over May, 1856. 

THE CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND FOND DU LAC RAILROAD. 

The Legislature of Wisconsin conferred the Eastern 
Grant of lands, as we have before mentioned, upon a new 
company of citizens of this State alone, incorporated as the 
"Wisconsin and Superior Railroad Company." As this 
line was the natural continuation of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
and Fond du Lac Company, which was then engaged in 
constructing its road north of Fond du Lac, arrangements 
were mutually agreed upon for uniting the interests of the 
two companies. The subjoined Act of the Legislature was 
passed, and approved February 12th, 1857, authorizing 
them to consolidate : 

Section 1. The Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac Railroad 
Compnny, a corporation created under the laws of the States of Illi' 

1 Fiom the Annual Report of its Directors. 



FOND DU LAC RAIXROAD. 143 

nois and Wisconsin, by the consolidation of the Illinois and Wisconsin 
Railroad Company in the State of Illinois, and the Rock River Valley 
Union Railroad Company in the State of Wisconsin, and the Wiscon- 
sin and Superior Railroad Company, a corporation created by the 
laws of Wisconsin, are hereby authorized and empowered to consoli- 
date the capital-stock of the two companies, and to make the two 
companies one, and to place the affairs and property of the two com- 
panies under the direction of one board of directors, &c. 

Sect. 2. The said consolidated company thus created shall be, 
and is hereby declared to be a body politic and corporate, under the 
name of The Chicago, St. Paul, and JFond du Lac Railroad Com- 
pany, &c. 

Sect. 3. The said consolidated company, hereby created, shall be 
entitled to, and invested with, the title and ownership of all the lands, 
and all and singular the rights, privileges, and immunities granted 
or conferred by the Act of Congress, approved June 3d, A. D. 1856, 
entitled "An Act granting public lands to the State of Wisconsin, to 
aid in the construction of railroads in said State," to the extent of 
the whole of the lands granted by said Act of Congress, for the pur- 
pose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from Fond du Lac, on 
Lake Winnebago, northerly to the State line, as fully and completely 
as the said Wisconsin and Lake Superior Railroad Company is, by 
its charter, entitled to and invested with the same ; subject, however, 
to all the terms, conditions, restrictions, limitations, impositions, 
duties, and obligations, contained in the charter of said Wisconsin 
and Superior Railroad Company, and in the said Act of Congress, 
as far as the same are applicable to the consolidated company 
herebj' created, &c. 

"The State of Michigan also received a grant of land 
from Congress, 'to aid in the construction of railroads 
from Little Bay de Noquet to Marquette, and thence to 
Ontonagon, and from the two last-named places to the 
Wisconsin State line ; also from Amboy, by Hillsdale and 
Lansing, and from Grand Rapids to some point on or near 
Traverse Bay ; also from Grand Haven and Pere Marquette 
to Flint, and thence to Port Huron, every alternate section 
of land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in 
width, on each side of each of said roads. ' 



144 CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND 

"The Legislature of Michigan, which had the disposal 
of the lands, distributed them among several companies. 
That portion of the grant pertaining to the route from 
Marquette, on Lake Superior, to the State line of Wis- 
consin, was donated to the Marquette and State-Line Eail- 
road Company, a corporation organized under the general 
railroad laws of Michigan ; and that portion of the grant 
extending from Ontonagon to the State line was donated 
to the Ontonagon and State-Line Railroad Company, 
organized in like manner. 

" In accordance with the provisions contained in the said 
several charters, and also by virtue of special acts of the 
Legislatures of Wisconsin and Micliigan, authorizing the 
same, the Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac Company, 
and the Marquette and State-Line Railroad Company, 
and the Ontonagon and State-Line Company, were con- 
solidated, and thereby this company became fully invested 
generally with all the chartered rights and properties of 
those companies, and particularly with all the rights to the 
land-grant applicable to these lines of road. 

" Prior to its consolidation with this company, the 
Marquette and State-Line Company had contracted for the 
purchase of a railroad about seventeen miles in length, 
from Marquette to the iron mines directly on their general 
route to the State line of Wisconsin, and by virtue of this 
consolidation, this company becomes possessed of said 
road, and also of valuable contracts, with several large 
mining companies in that section, for transporting iron-ore 
from the mines to the harbor of Marquette. This section 
of the road, it is supposed, will be in full operation to the 
iron mountain in July of the present year. 

" The distance from Fond du Lac (where the land-grant 
commences,) to the State line of Michigan, nearly due 
uorlh, is about one hundred and sixty-five miles, (as ascer- 



FOND DU LAC RAILROAD. 145 

tained from a recent survey of the route by a corps of 
engineers,) and from the State line to Marquette, about 
seventy-five miles ; and from the State line to Ontonagon, 
about ninety miles, making, in all, three hundred and 
thirty miles of land-grant road, upon the most direct and 
natural route to the copper and iron harbors of Lake Supe- 
rior. The Act of Congress gives every alternate section 
of land, for six sections in width, on either side of the road ; 
and in case of deficiency of land within that limit, such 
deficiency may be supplied by selecting lands on either side 
for fifteen miles, allowing a width, for such selections, of 
thirty miles — the entire length of the road. This, as will 
be seen, amounts to three thousand eight hundred and forty 
acres of land for every mile of railroad, and the whole 
distance being three hundred and thirty miles, makes one 
million two hundred and sixty-seven thousand acres. 
Besides this, the company have the right, by the charter, 
of running a road north-westerly to the west end of Lake 
Superior, within the State of Wisconsin, to which the grant 
of land also attaches. This can be done at any time 
within ten years ; and, if done, will add about 900,000 acres 
more to the lands of the company. This is truly a rich 
and munificent gift from the General Government to aid 
these railroad enterprises. 

" In regard to the cost of construction of the road, and 
the value of these lands, Mr. S. F. Johnston, the engineer 
under whose superintendence the explorations were made, 
says that ' a railroad can be built on our general route, 
northerly, cheaply, and with great ease ; that the snow is 
less an obstruction to the operation of a railroad than on 
the prairies of Illinois, for the reason that it does not 
drift at all, even on the highest lands. ^ He also reports 
that, in some localities, the needle of the compass was 
materially affected by magnetic iron-ore. The explorations 
13 



146 CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND 

heretofore made by engineers, from Ontonagon and Mar- 
quette, show their respective routes to be feasible for a 
railroad, and the land good, heavily timbered, with very 
valuable varieties ; and also refer to the well-known fact, 
that inexhaustible deposits of pure copper and iron ore 
exist along the lines of road. The extensive forests of 
pine, for which Northern Wisconsin is celebrated, and 
through which the contemplated line will pass, cannot fail 
to be of great value, especially when the road is finished 
through them. The rapid and continually-increasing 
growth and settlement of the area of country south of the 
line above indicated, together with the already marked 
inroads now being made upon the forests north of that line 
by the enormous amount of timber annually cut there, prove 
that these lands will be very valuable. On or near the 
Brule River, on the route of this road, are inexhaustible 
beds of the finest quality of slate and marble. As there 
are no other slate-quarries within many hundred miles 
south and west, eventually this slate will be sent by rail- 
road, southerly, in large quantities, for roofing and other 
purposes ; of course, this land must be valuable, and much 
of it- will be owned by the company. 

"But the most valuable are the mineral lauds. Pure, 
unadulterated copper ' is found along the whole trap-range, 
extending from Montreal River, north-easterly, past Onto- 
nagon harbor, nearly parallel with the southern shore of 
the lakes, and about fifteen to twenty-five miles from it, a 
distance of nearly one hundred and fifty miles, to the extre- 
mity of Keweenaw Point." 

W. B. Ogden, Esq., President of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
and Fond du Lac Railroad Company, in a circular-letter 
to the stockholders, says : " Preliminary surveys have been 

1 A general description of this copper-region will be found in the 
Second Part of this work. 



FOND DTJ LAC RAILROAD. 14t 

made of these lines, which show them entirely feasible for a 
railroad, at an average cost of about $25,000 per mile, and 
running through a peculiarly healthful region of good 
farming and valuable timber and mineral lands. We shall 
obtain the full quota of lands to which we are entitled under 
the Act of Congress, viz. : 3,840 acres per mile, and all 
(after excluding all swamp and refuse lands granted to the 
State,) within ten miles of our road. Many of these lands 
have a special value, in addition to their worth for farming 
purposes. With the exception of the prairie region in 
the vicinity of the southern part of the road, and occasional 
meadows and openings all along it, the whole line north 
from Appleton (some forty miles north of Fond du Lac,) 
passes over lands covered with fine white pine and other 
valuable timber, well watered, and abounding in great wealth 
of iron, copper, slate, and marble. 

" The Marquette line passes over superior and extensive 
slate-quarries of various colors, and the only known acces- 
sible slate west of Vermont, for the supply, over our road, 
of the Great Northwest and the Valley of the Mississippi. 
It also passes over and along the noted Lake Superior Iron 
Kange, extending from fourteen to fifty miles in width, 
north and south, and over one hundred miles in length, east 
and west, and producing, as proved by repeated practical 
analysis, experiment, and use, the finest iron in the world. 
A single known bed of it, directly on the line of this road, 
is capable, according to the United States Geological 
Survey and official Government Report, ' of supplying the 
world for ages. ' 

"On the Marquette line, seventeen miles of road are 
already constructed, and become our property by this con- 
solidation, with an ample and paying business already. at 
hand, in the transportation of ore and iron to the Lake at 



148 CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND 

Marquette. There are single sections of iron-ore land, 
along this line, which could not be purchased for $100,000. 

*' The Ontonagon line passes over the great Lake Superior 
copper and mining region, and directly past the rich Min- 
nesota mine, with its recent wonderful discoveries of im- 
mense masses and columns of solid virgin copper. A 
section of land covering this mine has now a market value 
of near |1, 500,000. 

" The Government having made no reserve of minerals to 
itself, and as our line of road penetrates to the interior of 
this region, and opens a country hitherto (for want of 
roads,) comparatively unoccupied, we shall, doubtless, in 
locating our lands, obtain, in addition to extensive tracts 
of fine pine timber-lands, many thousands of acres of great 
value on account of the minerals they contain. As often 
as every ten miles along the entire line, towns and villages 
will spring up, and give great value to our adjoining lands 
for villages and town lots. 

"The Illinois Central Railroad Company, in their last 
report, value their remaining unsold lands, taking their 
large actual sales as a standard, at $13 52 per acre, and 
express great confidence that a larger price will be realized. 

" If we estimate our lands at the same rate, as with all 
their wealth of timber and minerals we may safely do, we 
have — 

"1,267.200 acres, at $13 50 per acre, worth $17,107,200 

The 330 miles of road to be constructed by these 

lands, at $25,000 per mile, will cost 8,250,00C 

Leaving a surplus of $8,857,200 

'' On this basis there is value enough in these lands, not 
only to build the 330 miles of road north of Fond du Lac, 
but to reimburse to our stockholders their entire outlay in 
building their road from Chicago to Fond du Lac. 



FOND DU LAC RAILROAD. 149 

"The company have ten years' time in which to 
complete the line to Lake Superior, and their lands are 
free from all taxes during these ten years, unless pre- 
viously sold by the company. The company have also the 
right of way, free of cost, through all public lands, and all 
lands reserved by Government in any manner or for any 
purpose. 

''And this line, when constructed, will not want for busi- 
ness. A large population have already gathered in the 
vicinity of Ontonagon and Marquette, and heavy invest- 
ments have been made in mining the copper and iron, 
which business is rapidly increasing. Every year sends a 
powerful emigration thither; and these emigrants, while 
they develop the country, will draw their supplies from the 
prairies of Wisconsin and Illinois. As the mining resources 
of the region are developed, and it becomes easily acces- 
sible by our road, this emigration will increase accordingly. 
Manufiicturing establishments will, of necessity, grow out 
of the mining operations. The Great West will look 
mainly to the Lake Superior district for its supplies of 
copper, iron, and slate, as they will be delivered over our 
road at all seasons of the year, and at greatly reduced 
cost. The carrying trade of lumber, iron, slate, and 
marble, from our lands and the line of our road southerly, 
and of the supplies of all sorts needed upon it in return, 
will give full occupation for the entire capacity of the 
road. 

" The construction of a railroad from this extraordinary 
lumber and mineral region south, as a means of intercourse 
with the important lake cities on the western shore of Lake 
Michigan and the great markets of the country, would be 
an attractive investment of capital, without regard to the 
land grant. 

" Some of the most substantial and lucrative roads and 
13* 



150 CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, AND FOND DU LAC RAILROAD. 

improvements of the country have been constructed ex- 
pressly for the accommodation of such a traffic ; and there 
is not one of them where the object to be attained compares, 
in extent and inexhaustible resources, for all time to come, 
with ours. 

"In another respect this road will compare favorably 
with other roads of the country, viz. : in cheapness of 
COST the grades are easy, the country favorable for con- 
struction, the materials for ties and other structures on the 
line abundant, the right of way furnished without cost. 

"The company have also a charter for a road north- 
westerly from the above north and south line to St. Louis 
River, or the west end of Lake Superior, with the land- 
grant privilege attaching to it — the whole distance sup- 
posed to be about 200 miles. At some future day, and 
not far distant either, a line of road from the City of Supe- 
rior, south-easterly, to our north and south line, may not 
only be demanded by the wants of that section, but be a 
most essential tributary to our main line towards Chicago. 
In such event, if our other roads to Marquette and Onto- 
nagon should then be completed, it might be very important 
and indispensable for the company to have the benefit of 
the land-grant along its line." 

The earnings of this road, while in course of construction 
to Janesville, were, for the first eight months of 1856, 
$166,198 98. The road was opened to Janesville in Sep- 
tember, and the earnings on this portion of the line were, 
for the eight months following, $288,048 33 ; and for the 
month of May, 1857, $60,168 32, being an increase over the 
corresponding month of the preceding year, of $30,655 31. 
The connection with the Milwaukee and Mississippi Road 
was made on the 11th of May, 1857, thus opening a 
through route to the Mississippi, at Prairie du Chien, and 
promising a very large increase of annual receipts. 



\ 



MILWAUKEE AND MISSISSIPPI R. R. 151 
THE MILWAUKEE AND MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD COMPANY. 

This pioneer railroad of Wisconsin is fully completed to 
Prairie du Chieu, its terminus on the Mississippi river, and 
is not only one of the most prosperous, but one of the best 
conducted roads in the State. An immense amount of 
freight and travel pass over it, which formerly were car- 
ried over the Illinois roads to the river. We annex ex- 
tracts from the Report of its Superintendent. 

"It is with great satisfaction that I can state to the 
public generally, that our road, with all its connections 
and arrangements for business from New York to St. Paul, 
is in complete order, and ready for the earliest opening of 
navigation. 

"In the first place, the road terminates on the Missis- 
sippi river, about seventy miles above any other. Now, 
if we consider Chicago as the starting-point, we can take 
a passenger thence over the Chicago and St. Paul Railroad 
to Janesville, and thence over one hundred and thirty miles 
of our road to Prairie du Chien, from eight to ten hours 
in advance of the route via Dunleith, which advantage is 
sufficient, in my judgment, to give at least one hundred and 
thirty miles of our road the great bulk of travel to North- 
ern Iowa, Minnesota, St. Paul, and the Upper Mississippi 
country. Then, if we start at Milwaukee, we shall find our 
road has connection with Chicago, via Lake Shore Rail- 
road, and is, in the course of next year, to have a connec- 
tion across Lake Michigan to Grand Haven, which is di- 
rectly east of Milwaukee ; and thence with the Detroit and 
Milwaukee Railroad, with the New York Central and Erie 
Railroads, and with the Grand Canada Trunk Railroad, 
extending to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These routes, for 
at least nine months of the year, are the shortest, cheapest 
and quickest, from the principal Eastern cities and from 



152 MILWAUKEE AND MISSISSIPPI R. R. 

New England, through the Grand Trunk Railroad, through 
Milwaukee, and over the Milwaukee and Mississippi Rail- 
road, to the great Northwest. 

" From the two connections above mentioned, the Mil- 
waukee and Mississippi Road is to receive an amount of 
through business which will have scarcely a parallel in the 
West, and which, added to our already large local busi- 
ness, must fully establish the position I started with, that 
the M. and M. Raih'oad would be the best paying road 
west of Lake Michigan." 

Lines of steamers are daily running in connection with 
this railroad at Prairie du Chien, and the Company 
is rapidly controlling the great bulk of the freight and 
passenger traffic between the Upper Mississippi and the 
East. As an evidence of the remarkable increase of busi- 
ness, we will give the number of arrivals at St. Paul for 
the last seven years. 



Year. 


No. of Arrivals. 


Year. 


No. of Arrivals 


1850 


104 


1854 

1855 


310 


1851 


119 


563 


1852 


171 


1856 


837 


1853 


235 







During the year 1856, 112,052 passengers were trans- 
ported over this road, without the slightest injury to any 
one, except a lady, who had her shoulder injured by the 
breaking of an axle, which threw the car in which she was 
sitting at the time off the track. 

The amount of freight moved over the road, for the past 
year, was : Tonnage going east, 62,216; tonnage going 
west, 90,361 ; total, 153,517. The aggregate amount of 
earnings, for the same period, was $680,412 48. A divi- 
dend of ten per cent, cash was paid in 1856. 



\ 



DETROIT AND MILWAUKEE R. R. 



153 



THE DETROIT AND MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. 

The line of this railroad is drawn from Grand Haven, 
in the State of Michigan, and directly opposite Milwaukee, 
to Detroit, at the foot of Lake St. Clair, and at the ter- 
minus of the Canada and Great Western Railway ; branch- 
ing from it at Owasso or Flint, directly east to Port Larnia, 
the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway from Montreal, 
Toronto, and London, in Canada — making an air line from 
Milwaukee to the starting-point of the three great Atlantic 
roads — the Grand Trunk, the New York Central, and the 
New York and Erie. 

As the shortest possible connecting link between the ter- 
mini of the diverging roads from Milwaukee to the differ- 
ent points of the great Northwest, it is justly considered 
one of the most important to the State of any of the roads 
outside of its limits. The annexed table of distances 
and passenger fares by different routes, will show the ad- 
vantages of this route, in point of economy and expedition, 
over all other means of communication between the Eastern 
States and the principal points of importance in the 
Northwest. 

Table of Distances, Sc. 



FROM NEW YORK TO 


BY WHAT ROUTE. 


raiES. 


AMT. 


TIME. 


Milwaukee, via De 
" " Mi 


roit and Milwaukee Railway 

chigan Central Railroad 


942 
1048 
1078 
10.51 
1000 
1142 
1251 
1-292 
1439 
1436 


$20-20 
23-98 
24-73 
23-97 

25-20 

28-97 
26-70 
29-17 
29-18 


47-51 
52-24 
53-24 
52-33 

57-51 
62-33 
72-51 

86-57 
86-48 


« « Bu 

« « N. 

" " Pe 

Prairie La Crosse, v 
(( (( ( 

St. Paul, via Detroi 


ffalo and Michigan Southern Railroad.. 
York and Erie and Michigan Southern 
nn. Central and Detroit and Milwaukee 

ia Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad 

' N. York and Erie and Mich. Southern 
t and Milwaukee Railway 


« " N. Y. 
" « Michi 


and Erie and Mich. Southern Railroad 
gan Central Railroad 







The business prospects of the Detroit and Milwaukee 
Road are very flattering. They have carried over their 



154 MILWAUKEE AND HORICON R. R. 

line, in the last six months, over 129,000 local passengers, 
and their receipts have, in the same time, amounted to 
$143,342. At this rate they will have, per annum, for 
local traffic, over $680,000. A few years will make a vast 
increase of their business, both local and through. This 
Company lately received from Government over one hun- 
dred thousand acres of land, which ought to produce at 
least one million of dollars. 



THE MILWAUKEE AND HORICON RAILROAD. 

This road runs from Milwaukee northwest (N. 45° W.) 
to the City of Superior, 325 miles, passing through, on its 
route, Horicon, Waupum, Ripon, Berlin, and Stevens' 
Point, and the whole line presents no material deviation 
from an air line. It is proper to remark here, that the 
charter of the La Crosse Road and the Milwaukee and 
Horicon, occupies the same ground between Milwaukee 
and Horicon, 51 miles, and an arrangement was made be- 
tween these companies, under a contract running twenty 
years from the time of opening the Milwaukee and Horicon 
Road beyond Horicon. This road is now finished to 
Berlin, 92 miles from Milwaukee, and is being hurried for- 
ward without delay. It connects, at this point, with the 
Valley Road, already built to Fond du Lac, and at Ripon 
with the Winnebago, extending to Oshkosh, and the Ripon 
and Wolf River Road, besides other important connections, 
building by separate companies. It will be perceived that 
the Milwaukee and Horicon Railroad occupies the position 
of a grand trunk line, extending diagonally through the 
middle of the State from the southeast to the northwest. 
At the City of Superior, it will connect with the contem- 
plated Northern Pacific Railroad, and will form the air 
line from it to Milwaukee. 



MILWAUKEE AND BELOIT R. R. 155 

The total amount of tonnage passing over this road, for 
ten months of 1856, was 25,655, and 2Y,400 passengers. 
This is a very encouraging prospect, when it is considered 
that but ItjVo i^il^s were in operation for this period. 

GREEN BAY, MILWAUKEE, AND CHICAGO RAILROAD. 

This Company was organized in 1852, and the road com- 
pleted between Milwaukee and Chicago in 1855. It runs 
along the Lake Shore from Milwaukee to the State line, 
a distance of 40 miles, connecting there with the Chicago 
road. It is commonly called the Wisconsin Lake Shore 
Road, and during the close of navigation (about three 
months every year), it is the only means of connection, for 
passengers and freight business, with the great Eastern 
and Southern routes, and must prove one of the best roads 
in the United States. As a passenger road, it is one of 
the best in the West — running its trains with great regu- 
larity and precision during all seasons of the year. It was 
only in operation seven months of the year 1855, and there- 
fore the comparative business is only given for that period 
for the two past years. 

1856. 

Number of through passengers, both ways 98,553 

« « way " " " 81,277 

Earnings for the year 1856 $221,936-56 

Last seven months of 1855 $36,409-65 

Last seven months of 1856. 136,610-38 

Excess for 1856 $50,200-73 

MILWAUKEE AND BELOIT RAILROAD. 

This road leads from Milwaukee, in a southwesterly di- 
rection, to Elkhorn and Delavan, a distance of 49 miles, 
where it will shortly intersect with the Racine and Missis- 



156 MILWAUKEE AND SUPERIOR R. R. 

sippi Railroad, thereby forming a direct line to Savannah, 
on the Mississippi river. It passes through a section of 
country which, for fertility and agricultural productions, 
cannot be surpassed in the West. 

FOX RIVER VALLEY RAILROAD. 

This Company was chartered in 1853, with the right to 
construct a railroad from the south line of the State of 
Wisconsin to Milwaukee, a distance of 43 miles. The 
entire route has been surveyed, and about one-third of it 
completed. Its location is very favorable, passing through 
one of the richest and most densely populated portions of 
Wisconsin, besides forming several important connections 
with other railroads. 

THE RACINE AND MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD. 

This road runs from the city of Racine to Savanna, on 
the Mississippi river, a distance of 136 miles. Having 
an eastern terminus at Racine, and a belt of rich and well- 
settled country, eighteen miles wide, the whole length of 
the road, w^holly dependent upon it for the transportation 
of its produce to a good market ; it commands every ad- 
vantage upon which the success of such projects usually 
depend. 

MILWAUKEE AND SUPERIOR RAILROAD. 

This enterprise is in the hands of a. Company organized 
nnder a charter obtained in March last. The route of the 
proposed road, under its charter, extends from Milwaukee, 
by way of the lake shore towns, to Green Bay, and thence 
to the City of Superior, at the head of Lake Superior — 
covering a distance of about four hundred miles. It is the 
extension northward of the line of lake shore roads, now 



DISTANCES BY RAILROAD. 



15T 



completed from Buffalo to Milwaukee. The Company is 
entitled to receive one hundred thousand dollars of the 
bonds of that city, besides numerous private subscriptions, 
&c., in various counties along their route. It is their inten- 
tion to complete the road to Sheboygan in 1858. Be- 
tween Milwaukee and Green Bay it can have no rival road 
within forty miles ; and, were its operations confined only 
to the local business, it could not fail to be a profitable 
investment. But it reaches further ; intersects the Chicago, 
St. Paul, and Fond du Lac Road, leading to the mining 
districts of Ontonagon and Marquette, and traverses the 
richest mineral region in Northern Wisconsin, to the great 
city of Lake Superior. 



DISTANCES BY RAILROAD. 

Kailroad distances by the various lines, diverging from 
Milwaukee throughout the State of Wisconsin. 



Milwaukee and 3[i8sis8ijipi Rail- 
road, 

MILES. 

From Milwaukee to 

Wauwiiutosa 5 

Side Track 32 

Junction 14 

Forest House 17 

Waukesha 20 

Genesee 28 

Eagle 36 

Palmyra 42 

Whitewater 50 

Childs' Station 55 

Milton 62 

Janesville 70 

Edgerton 72 

Stoughton 82 

Madison 98 

Blackearth 122 

Arena 128 

Avoca 148 

Muscoda 158 

Boscabel 168 

Prairie du Chien 195 

14 



La Crosse and ililwaukee Rail- 
road. 

MILES. 

From Milwaukee to 

Schwartzburg 7 

Granville 13 

German town 18 

Richfield 23 

Cedar Creek 28 

Schleisinger 30 

Hartford 34 

Rubicon 39 

Woodland 43 

Iron Ridge 45 

Horicon 51 

Junction 54 

Oak Grove 56 

Beaver Dam 61 

Fox Lake 68 

Portitge Prairie 73 

Cambria 77 

Pardeeville 87 

Portage City 95 

New Lisbon 140 

La Crosse 196 



158 



DISTANCES BY RAILROAD. 



Watertoicn Division. 

MILES. 

From Milwaukee to 

Wiiuwiiutosa ^ 

Elm Grove 9 

Junction 14: 

Pewaukee 20 

Hartland 24 

Pine Lake 27 

Oconomococ 33 

Ixonia 38 

Watertown 45 

Lowell 54 

Columbus 64 

Norihxoestern Division, 

From Milwaukee to 

Portage City 95 

St. Croix River 323 

St. Croix and Lahe Superior Rail- 
road. 

From Milwaukee to 

St. Croix River 323 

Falls of St. Croix 353 

Gordon 388 

Nashodana 400 

City of Superior 460 

Cfiicago, St. Paid, and Fond du Lac 
Railroad. 

From Chicago to 

Junction 2 

Jefferson 9 

Canfield 12 

Des Plaines 16 

Dunton 23 

Palatine 27 

Barrington 32 

Cary 38 

CuYSTAL Lake 43 

Ridgefield 45 

Woodstock 51 

Harvard 62 

Lawrence 65 

Sharon 71 

Clinton .Junction 78 

Shopiere S3 

Janesville 91 



HILES. 

La Crosse Junction 

Burnet 95 

Chester 107 

Oakfleld 116 

Fond DU Lac 124 

Milwauhee and Horicon Railroad. 

From Milwaukee to 

Schwartzburg 7 

Granville 13 

Germantown 18 

Richfield 23 

Cedar Creek 28 

Schleisinger 30 

Hartford 34 

Rubicon 39 

Woodland 43 

Iron Ridge .., 45 

Horicon 61 

Burnett 56 

Mill Creek 62 

Waupun 66 

Brandon 74 

Reed's Corners 77 

Ripon 81 

Berlin 92 

Stevens' Point. 142 

Chicago and Milwauhee Railroad. 

From Chicago to 

Chittenden 7 

Evanston 12 

Wynetka 16 

Glencoe -... 19 

Highland Park 23 

Rockland 30 

Waukegan 35 

State Line 45 

Kenosha 51 

Racine 62 

County Line 70 

Oak Creek 75 

Milwaukee 85 

Racine and Mississippi Railroad. 

From Racine to 

Junction 2 

Windsor 10 

Union Grove 14 



RIVER DISTANCES. 



159 



MILES. 

Kansasville 18 

Dover 20 

Burlington 26 

Lyonsdale 30 

Springfield 33 

Elkhorn 40 

Delavan 46 

Darien 50 

Allen's Grove 53 

Clinton 58 

Bkloit 68 

rockfokt 72 

Fheeport 101 

Savannah 136 

Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad. 

From Detroit to 

D. M. Si T. R. R. Junction.. 3 

Royal Oak 12 

Birmiugham 18 



Pontiac 25 

Drayton Plains 31 

Waterford 33 

Clarkson 35 

Springfield 39 

Davisburg 42 

Holly 47 

Fentonville 52 

Linden 57 

Gaines 62 

Vernon 70 

Corunna 77 

Owosso 80 

Ovid 90 

St. Johns 100 

Ionia 120 

Lowell 

Ada 

Grand Rapids 

Grand Haven 170 

Milwaukee, by steamboats... 251 



RIVER DISTANCES. 



Table of distances from St. Louis, via Mississippi and 
Sti Louis rivers, to the City of Superior. 



MILES. 

From St. Louis to 

Missouri River 18 

Alton... 3 21 

Grafton 18 39 

Illinois River 2 41 

Gilead 32 73 

Hamburg 10 83 

Clarksville 13 96 

Louisiana 11 107 

Hannibal 25 132 

QuiNCY 18 150 

La Grange 10 160 

TuUy 7 167 

Warsaw | 17 134 

Des Moines River] 

Keokuk 4 188 

^^^^'^^^ 1 12 200 

Nauvoo J 

Madison 10 210 

Burlington 20 230 



■ MILES. 

Oquawka 17 247 

New Boston 19 266 

Iowa River 1 267 

Muscatine 25 292 

Fairport 7 299 

Andalusia 10 309 

Rock Island ) 9 3^3 

Davenport J 

Hampton 11 329 

Parkhurst 8 337 

Albany 19 356 

Lyons 9 365 

Charleston 15 380 

Savannah 2 382 

Belleview 19 401 

Fever River (to Galena 6 

miles) 7 408 

Dubuque 24 432 

Dunleith 1 433 

Potosi Landing 14 447 



160 



LAKE DISTANCES. 



MILES. 

Waupaton 10 467 

Buena Vista 5 462 

Cassville 4 466 

Guttenburg 10 476 

Clayton , 12 488 

Wyalusing 5 493 

McGregor's 6 499 

Prairie du Chien 4 503 

Red House 6 508 

Johnson's Landing........ 2 510 

Lafayette 30 540 

Columbus 2 542 

Lansing 1 543 

De Soto 6 549 

Victory 10 559 

Bad Axe City 10 569 

Warner's Landing 6 675 

Brownsville 10 585 

La Crosse 12 597 

Dacotah 12 609 

Richmond 6 615 

Monteville 5 620 

Homer 10 630 

Winona 7 637 

Fountain City 12 649 

Mount Vernon 14 663 

Minneiska 4 667 

Alma 15 682 

Wabashaw 10 692 

Nelson's Landing 3 695 

Keed's Landing 2 697 

Foot of Lake Pepin 2 699 

North Pepin 6 705 

Johnstown 2 707 

Lake City 5 712 

Central Point 2 714 

Florence 3 717 



MILES. 

Maiden's Bock 3 720 

Westerville 3 723 

Wacouta 12 735 

Red Wing 6 741 

Thing's Landing 7 748 

Diamond Bluff 8 756 

Prcscott 13 769 

Point Douglas 1 770 

Hastings 3 773 

Grey Cloud 12 785 

Pine Bend 4 789 

Red Rock 8 797 

Kaposia 3 800 

St. Paul 5 805 

St. Anthony 9 814 

Rice Creek 7 821 

St. Francis or Rum River 9 830 

Itasca 7 837 

Elk River 6 843 

Big Lake 10 853 

Big Meadow (Sturgis)... 18 871 
St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids) 10 881 

Watab 6 887 

Little Rock 2 889 

Platte River 12 901 

Swan River 10 911 

Little Falls 3 914 

Belle Prairie 5 919 

Fort Ripley 10 929 

Crow Wing River 6 935 

Sandy Lake 120 1055 

Savannah Portage 15 1070 

Across the Portage 5 1075 

Down Savannah to St. 

Louis 20 1095 

Fond du Lac 60 1155 

City of Superior 22 1179 



LAKE DISTANCES 



Chicago, 3Iihvati7cee, and Lake Su- 
perior Line. 

mLES. 

From Chicago to 

Milwaukee 90 90 

Sheboygan 50 140 

Manitowoc 25 165 

Two Rivera 7 172 



MILES. 

Manito Island 112 284 

Mackinaw 90 374 

S. St. Marie 90 464 

Marquette 170 634 

Cop's Harbor 80 714 

Eagle Harbor 16 730 

Eagle River 9 739 

Ontonagon 65 804 



LAKE DISTANCES. 



161 



MILES. 

La Pointe 80 884 

City of Superior 80 964 

The Lady Elgin, on this line, is 
of 1037 tons burthen, and cannot be 
surpassed by any steamer floating 
the Western waters, in point of 
speed, comfort, &c. 

Cleveland, Detroit, and Lake Supe- 
rior Line. 

From Cleveland to 

Detroit 130 130 

Fort Gratiot 70 200 



MILES. 

Pointe au Barques 85 285 

Thunder Bay 70 355 

Presque Island 80 430 

Sault St. Marie 100 530 

Marquette 170 700 

Cope Harbor 80 780 

Eagle Harbor 16 796 

Eagle River 9 805 

Ontonagon 65 870 

La Pointe 80 950 

Superior 80 1030 

The Iron City and Daeotah propel- 
lers are new, and among the best 
boats on the Lake. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PUBLIC LANDS — PRE-EMPTION LAW — ADVICE TO SETTLERS 
— EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS, ETC. 

In the precediug pages we described the various resources 
of this, the Empire State of the Northwest ; and will now 
give some account of the public lands within its limits, 
and an abstract of the pre-emption law, for the benefit 
of those desirous of availing themselves of its privileges. 
This law has, since the date of its passage, been one con- 
tinuous source of benefit to the "West. It is the best pro- 
tection ever devised for the poor and industrious man 
against the speculator and the capitalist. 

The public lands of the United States are that immense 
body of unappropriated and unsettled lands, commonly 
called Government lands, which have been acquired at 
various periods, both by treaty and purchase ; and, in all 
action upon them, both by individuals and by public bodies, 
legislative or judicial, are treated as the property of the 
Government. President Buchanan, in his Inaugural Ad- 
dress, truly says : ** No nation, in the tide of time, has ever 
been blessed with so rich and noble an inheritance as we 
enjoy in the public lands. In administering this important 
trust, whilst it may be wise to grant portions of them for 
the improvement of the remainder, yet we should never 
forget that it is our cardinal policy to reserve these lands, 
as much as may be, for actual settlers, and this at moderate 
prices We shall thus not only best promote the pros- 

(162) 



PUBLIC LANDS. 163 

perity of the new States, by furnishing them a hardy and 
independent race of honest and industrious citizens, but 
shall secure homes for our children, and our children's 
children, as well as for those exiled from foreign shores, 
who may seek in this country to improve their condition, 
and to enjoy the blessings of civil and religious liberty. 
Such emigrants have done much to promote the growth 
and prosperity of the country. They have proved faithful, 
both in peace and in war. After becoming citizens, they 
are entitled, under the Constitution and laws, to be placed 
on a perfect equality with the native-born citizens, and in 
this character they should ever be kindly recognised." 

The present system of public surveys is a complete ad-- 
measurement and marking of the whole body of public 
lands, and is very easy of comprehension. The land is 
first measured and marked in township lines, which are 
divisions of six miles square. Afterwards the township is 
divided into sections of one mile square, each section being 
marked by " blazing" a tree, as the technical phrase is for 
barking it with an axe ; or, if the corner to be marked is in 
the prairie, by driving a stake, and throwing up a sod, 
noting at the same time, on the tree or the stake, the 
number of the township and section. The townships are 
numbered from south to north on a base liyie, and the north 
and south ranges are numbered on both sides of an arbi- 
trary meridian, east and west. The meridian lines are 
established and surveyed from some important point, gene- 
rally from the junction of some water-course. The *' fourth" 
principal meTidian commences on the Illinois River, at a 
point seventy-two miles due north from its mouth ; (here 
also commences its base line, which runs due west to the 
Mississippi River). This meridian continues north through 
the State of Wisconsin. The sections are numbered, 
beginning at the northeast section of the township for 



164 



PRE-EMPTION LAW. 



number one, running west, and alternately east, terminating 
with number thirty-six in the southeast corner. Section 
numbered sixteen in each township is appropriated to 
schools, and transferred to the States for that purpose. 
The following diagram will serve to illustrate : 



6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 
12 
13 
24 
25 
36 


1 


8 


9 


10 


11 


18 


n 


16 


15 


14 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


30 


29 


28 


21 


26 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 



Those lands not entered under the pre-emption law are 
offered at sale, previous to which, no person, except haying 
a pre-emptive right, can purchase. After they have been 
offered at public sale, they are open to every purchaser at 
private sale. The price of all the lands is fixed at a uni- 
form minimum of one dollar and a quarter per acre, except 
those specified in the late land-grants. 



THE PRE-EMPTION LAW. 

The following abstract of the pre-emption law will 
prove of interest to such as design to avail themselves of 
its provisions : 

1. The settler must never before have had the benefit 
of pre-empting under the act. 

2. He must not, at the time of making the pre-emp- 



PRE-EMPTION LAW. 165 

tion, be the owner of three hundred and twentj acres of 
land in any State or Territory in the United States. 

3. He must settle upon and improve the land in good 
faith, for his own exclusive use or benefit, and not with the 
intention of selling it on speculation ; and must not make, 
directly or indirectly, any contract or agreement, in any 
way or manner, with any person or persons, by which the 
title which he may acquire from the United States should 
enure, in whole or part, to the beaefit of any person except 
himself. 

4. He must be twenty-one years of age, and a citizen 
of the United States ; or, if a foreigner, must have declared 
his intention to become a citizen before the proper autho- 
rity, and received a certificate to that effect. 

5. He must build a house on the land, live in it, and 
make it his exclusive home, and must be an inhabitant of 
the same at the time of making application for pre-emption. 
[Until lately, a single man might board with his nearest 
neighbor ; but the same is now required of single as mar- 
ried men, except that, if married, the family of the settler 
must also live in the house.] 

6. The law requires that more or less improvements 
be made on the land, such as breaking, fencing, &c., but 
pre-emptions are granted where a half-acre is broken and 
enclosed. 

T. It is necessary that no other person, entitled to the 
right of pre-emption, shall reside on the land at the same 
time. 

8. No person is permitted to remove from his own 
land, and make a pre-emption in the same State or Ter- 
ritory. 

9. The settler is required to bring with him to the 
land-ofiBce a written or printed application, setting forth 
the facts in his case as to the 1st, 2d, and 3d requirements 



166 LAND GRANT, AND PRE-EMPTION. 

here mentioned, with a certificate appended, to be signed 
by the Register and Receiver, and make affidavit to the 
same. 

10. He is also required to bring with him a respect- 
able witness of his acquaintance, who is knowing to the 
facts of his settlement, to make affidavit to the 4th, 5th, 6th, 
1th, and 8th requirements here mentioned, with the same 
set forth on paper, with a corresponding blank certificate 
attached, to be signed by the land-officers. 

11. The pre-emptor, if a foreigner, must bring with 
him to the land-office, duplicates of his naturalization 
papers, duly signed by the official from whom they were 
received. 

A minor who is the head of a family, or a widow, may 
also pre-empt — their families being required to live on the 
land. 

The settler is required to file a written declaratory 
statement of his intention to pre-empt, before he can pro- 
ceed with his pre-emption. 

Fees. — 1st. The fee required by the Register for filing 
a declaratory statement, is one dollar. 

2d. For granting a pre-emption, the Register and Re- 
ceiver can receive fifty cents. 

3d. For duplicate of the map of any township, one dollar 
is required by the Register." 

LAND GRANT — EFFECT UPON PRE-EMPTIONS. 

"We assure all our readers, that the closing of the land- 
offices need deter no one from immigrating to Wisconsin, 
and none there from making claims. The Bailroad Grants 
in its terms, respects all pre-emptions made up to the time 
the roads are actually located. After the location, pre- 
emptors are excluded from pre-empting odd-numbered 
sections only, within six miles of either side of the roads 



UNSURVEYED LANDS — L A ND - F F I C E S. 167 

as located; but the Government price for all lands within 
six miles of the railroads, is $2 50 per acre. If they wish 
to go further off than six miles from the proposed railroad 
lines, then the price of the lands will be $1 25 per acre. 

The closing of the land-offices is a real benefit to the 
settler, by preventing speculators (the bane of all new 
States,) from taking up all the public lands along the line 
of the proposed roads. 

UNSURVEYED LANDS. 

Besides the lands which have been surveyed and brought 
into market, there are large tracts yet unsurveyed, and 
almost unexplored. The amount of these lands is esti- 
mated at about 14,500 square miles; principally lying in 
the northwestern part of the State, and almost without 
inhabitants. The soil of this region is of an excellent 
quality, &c.^ 

LAND-OFFICES. 

There are six land-offices in Wisconsin, each of which 
represents several counties, viz. : Mineral Point, Manasha, 
Hudson, Stevens' Point, La Crosse, and City of Superior. 
At either of these offices, settlers will be furnished with 
small township maps, showing all the vacant or unentered 
lands, up to the date of application. 

The right of pre-emption gives to Wisconsin an advan- 
tage over other Western States, for it precludes entirely 
the possibility of its becoming, as are the States of Illinois 
and Iowa, a country of speculators, who feel no interest in 
them, except that of having their lands increase in value, 
as the result of the public spirit and enterprise of others. 

There are still thousands of persons at the East, farmers, 
mechanics, artisans, working-people, who look toward 

1 See Pages 40 and 42. 



168 EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS. 

Wisconsin with a disposition to emigrate — perhaps they 
mete out from year to year a bare subsistence — the year 
rolls by, and if they have enjoyed the right to labor during 
the bulk of it, they have accumulated but little ; and when 
we look back at the condition of things a winter or two 
ago, in the large cities, when the most hard-working, 
honest, proud-spirited mechanics were straitened for want 
of the means of keeping themselves and their little ones 
from starvation, we cannot help wondering why more 
of them do not come to this favored State. And who can 
tell when these things will occur again ? Neither honesty, 
industry, nor capability, are a protection when there is no 
work. The very men who have barely enough to eke out 
a miserable subsistence in the cities, could command in 
Wisconsin, through the whole winter, from $2 50 to $3 00 
per day, and be sought after gladly, and begged to work. 
What, too, would be their opportunities, rising in a new 
country ; at home among people like themselves ; their 
children imbibing health and happiness from the air they 
breathed, instead of disease and crime ; they themselves 
known and respected according to their deserts ; and pos- 
sessing the many advantages for a rapid accumulation of 
fortune, known only to a new country I Who would ask 
to exchange such a pure, free life, for the crowded miseries 
of the Eastern cities, their uncertainty of employment, and 
the few rugged, scrambling roads by which the poor can 
rise I Surely no sensible man would hesitate long as to his 
choice. 

" The working-man in Wisconsin need never be idle, and 
it is pre-eminently the place for working-people ; the whole 
country is in a state of transition, rapidly going on. What 
has been done at the East, has yet to be done here ; the 
numerous channels of business, into which it requires years 
to attain a successful position there, are either just opened 



EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS. 169 

to enterprise in this State, or await, perhaps, another year's 
agricultural settlement, as we chance to look at a point 
just bursting into notice, or another with a few years the 
advantage — hence, the newly-arrived mechanic, artisan, or 
manufacturer asks himself, not. Where can I find an open- 
ing ? but. Which is the best V 

The Emigrant's Journal says: *'Wedo know that the 
Beneficent Creator of all things, in his sovereign benevo- 
lence, has thrown wide to humanity millions upon millions 
of untilled acres in the Great West, that lie there waiting 
for hands to cover them with harvests. And we also know 
that, in the crowded cities of our own land, and in the 
crowded States of Europe, thousands on thousands of our 
fellow-beings are toiling through life to obtain a miserable 
subsistence, who, on those broad acres, would soon find 
ease, and comfort, and affluence. Now, to assist that emi- 
gration, seems to us one of the noblest works to which man 
could devote himself. To illustrate our purpose, let us 
stop at this corner of a great city, and see the population 
set past us. It is sunset. Note that poor laborer; he 
comes from a hard day's work. From morning to night 
that man's muscles have been going. The miserable pit- 
tance he receives is scarce enough to keep his wife and 
children in food and lodging. The benefit of all his toil 
goes to some one — not to himself. 

" Imagine that man set upon his own land, the plough 
in his grasp, and his fortune before him. Where, then, 
would be the result of his labor ? House, ploughed land, 
fences, barns, would grow under his hand with half the 
labor he now gives to procure a living, and every day's 
work would be for himself, and would add to his own per- 
sonal wealth. The heavens would smile above him, the 
great earth would yield him her fruits ; and he would leave 
15 



ITO EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS. 

Lis children — instead of siclvness, sin, and poverty — health, 
happiness, and prosperity." 

Another journal forcibly remarks : "We say, then, to 
the mechanic, pent up in dense, suffocating cities, or 
crowded towns, toiling at the selfish dictation of arrogant 
employers, who derive at least three-fourths of the profits 
of your labor — to such I say, Come to the fresh and fruit- 
ful West, where you may easily have an independent and 
pleasant home. 

"To the young farmer, who works the long hot days 
for the paltry sum of ten or a dozen dollars per month, or 
to him who rents land, returning to others the 'lion's 
share' of all the products of his industry — to all who would 
better their condition and regain new energies, unto such 
I say, confidently and in a lively friendship. Come, and ap- 
propriate to yourselves any necessary and proper amount 
of these gardens, boundless and beautiful, which you can, 
so many of you, easily do. 

" They will return you a greater yield of crops, for less 
labor, and then you can obtain prices but little under 
Eastern markets ; transportation is so cheap and speedy, 
which renders these Western lands as valuable as those of 
the East." 

An intelligent writer in the New York Herald says : — 
" Having visited Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and 
Wisconsin, I can speak from knowledge and experience in 
regard to their present and future. I am desirous of 
stating, through your columns, my opinion as to which of 
these Territories or States, emigrants, particularly those 
of the Northern States, and who are practical farmers, will, 
taking all the circumstances into consideration, find it most 
to their advantage to settle in. Wisconsin is my choice, 
for the following reasons : First, good water, a healthy 
climate, plenty of wood, all kinds of grain and fruit grow 



GENERAL REMARKS. lU 

in abnndarice, an intelligent population, railroads travers- 
ing every part of tlie State, and a home market at almost 
every door. It is interspersed with lakes and streams, and 
abounding with fish and game. The time is not far distant 
which will witness the value of all the middle portion of 
that State at fifty dollars and upwards for an acre. The 
pineries are supposed to be less in value than the prairie 
and oak openings. This is not so at present. There are 
lands there now that cannot be purchased for two hundred 
dollars per acre. There are now more than three thousand 
shingle-makers, lumbermen, and others, in these dense 
forests ; and if a shingle-maker, with his machine, cannot 
make twenty dollars per day, and drink his quart of 
whiskey, he won't work. The shingle-makers frequently 
pay five to eight dollars for a single tree. The lumbermen 
will take a whole tree, and throw it in a stream but a trifle 
wider than the tree itself, and, as they term it, log it down 
to some larger water. This is done only when the snow is 
going off, in the spring, or when there is a rise of water in 
the fall of the year. To mount some high eminence on a 
cold, frosty morning, and cast your eye over these dark 
forests, and behold the smoke standing, like the shaft of 
Bunker Hill Monument, in the air, is indeed a sight worth 
seeing." 

It is surprising to see so many hard-working farmers, 
laboring in the Eastern States on miserable farms, from ten 
to one hundred acres in size, when such inducements are 
offered in Wisconsin, as buying improved farms at low 
prices, or selecting to suit themselves from Government 
lands at $1 25 per acre. The prairies and openings of this 
State offer farms, wild or improved, of a quality which the 
same means could not purchase in the other States, while 
the rapidity with which internal improvements advance, 
approximates with each year the value of produce near the 



172 GENERAL REMARKS. 

market-prices of the East, and consequently gives an en- 
hanced value to their farms. 

The soil in most parts of the State is composed of the 
black deposit of decayed vegetation, which for ages has 
flourished in wild luxuriance, and rotted upon the surface ; 
of loam, and, in a few localities, of clay mixed with sand. 
The deposit of vegetable mould is uniformly several inches 
thick on the tops and sides of hills — in the valleys it is fre- 
- quently a number of feet. A soil thus created of impalpa- 
ble powder, formed of the elements of organic matter — the 
dust of death — we need scarcely remark, is adapted to the 
highest and most profitable purposes of agriculture — 
yielding crop after crop in rank abundance, without an 
artificial manuring. Instances could be mentioned of land 
cropped for twenty to thirty successive years, without the 
addition of a pound of manure, on which the growth, last 
season, was just as vigorous^ and the yield as profuse, as 
on any of the series. 

We are told by those wiseacres who are always croaking, 
that "the bubble of Western speculation in lands, &c., 
will soon blow up" — this has been their cry for years. 
Whether it comes or not — and there is no doubt that it 
ought to come soon in several of the States whose lands 
are partly held by Eastern speculators — it can do no mate- 
rial damage to Wisconsin, and we will give our reasons : 

First. Its unrivalled agricultural country to fall back upon. 

Second. Its vast mineral resources of lead, copper, 
iron, &c.' 

1 A piece of gold-bearing quartz -was found lately near Waupacca, 
in Waupacca River, near the centre of the State ; also, a specimen 
of pure gold was dug from a cellar in the same vicinity. The quartz 
specimen is quite rich in the precious metal. The particles are 
plainly visible to the eye, scattered in profasion over the surface of 
the rock. Particles of gold, as large as a pea, have been frequently 
dug out of the ground at the same place. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 113 

Third. Its immense lumber regions. 

Fourth. Its commercial position and advantages. Lake 
Superior on the north, Lake Michigan on the east, the 
Mississippi River on the west, and the inland navigation 
improvements connecting that river and Lake Michigan, 
besides its railroads which traverse it in every direction. 

Fifth. In the energy and industry of its inhabitants. 

Sixth, and lastly. In the large and increasing European 
immigration. 

In May, 1857, over one thousand Norwegian settlers 
arrived, and at least twenty thousand more are expected 
to follow, from that country alone, this year. We have no 
means of knowing the numbers of German and Irish' immi- 
grants, but they are in excess of former years. Wiscojisin, 
if she never receives one dollar more, or another settler 
from the old States, would still increase at an unexam- 
]^led rate from foreign immigration alone ! 

In addition to all these resources, Wisconsin is not crip- 
pled with a heavy debt, like most of the other States. In 
185t it only amounted to about $70,000. Nor has she to 
expend millions upon internal improvements, for the 
General Government granted over 2,000,000 acres to con- 
struct her railroads ; the lands appropriated for school pur- 
poses are worth at least $3,000,000, besides the University, 
and other trust funds. 

One would infer from the remarks of several of the leading 
journals, that the only cities in the Union were in the 
Eastern States, and that the products of the West must be 
brought there for market. The statements of these journals 
show a narrow-mindedness and intentional ignorance of the 
true state of affairs. Wisconsin has, within her own limits, 
a ready market for all her agricultural productions, and is 
able to ship the products of her lead, copper, and iron 
mines, to Canada, to Europe, or the Gulf of Mexico. 
15* 



174 GENERAL REMARKS. 

Great numbers of emigrants have arrived tliis year at its 
Lake ports from Europe via Canada. 

That there are many towns which have no existence but 
on paper, and in the brains of speculators ; and that great 
numbers of young men, who are fit for nothing but idling 
away their time in cities, or attending upon fancy mercan- 
tile duties, come here, and can find no employment suited 
to their capacity, we do not deny. But we do assert that 
a good farmer or mechanic failing to succeed in Wisconsin, 
is almost an impossibility — in fact, we would like to hear 
of one. "We will go further, and maintain that not only 
can they succeed better in Wisconsin, but in less time, and 
with less labor, than is needed in other States. Even sup- 
posing a general revulsion should occur in commercial 
affairs throughout the East, we confess that we are unable 
to see how it can affect the settlers in W^isconsin who have 
purchased lands at $1 25 to $2 50 per acre. For it is 
proved that the first crop raised generally pays both for 
the farm and improvements! Again, in proportion as 
the population increases, there must be towns ; and these 
towns must give employment to mechanics to build them, 
and to all kinds of tradesmen to support them, and the 
remuneration that will be paid in every case will be very 
great. 

We make these statements to prove that the course of 
Wisconsin must ever be onward. If its increase in former 
years exceeded that of any other State in the Union, what 
must it soon be when the resources we have mentioned shall 
have been fully developed. 



PAKT II. 



LAKE SUPERIOE 



(175) 



LAKE SUPERIOR. 



CHAPTER I. 

LAKE SUPERIOR — PICTURED ROCKS — CLIMATE — ISLANDS. 

"Father of Lakes ! thy -waters bend 
Beyond the eagle's utmost view, 
"When, throned in heaven, he sees thee send 
Back to the sky its world of blue. 

"Boundless and deep, the forests weave 
Their twilight shade thy borders o'er, 
An^ threatening cliffs, like giants, heave 
Their rugged forms along thy shore." 

Lake Superior, the Mediterranean Sea of America, is 
the largest body of fresh water on the face of the globe. 
It is 627 feet above the level of the sea, 860 miles long, 
160 wide, and its mean depth has been estimated at 900 
feet, its elevation above Lakes Huron and Michigan 49 
feet, and it is said that near two hundred rivers and creeks 
flow into it. The greater part of these rivers are not 
navigable, except by canoes, owing to their numerous falls 
and rapids. 

More than two hundred years ago, before the emigrants 
of the " Mayflower" ever trod on New England soil, the 
Erench Jesuits of Canada had partially explored this great 

(177) 



lis LAKE SUPERIOR. 

lake, and described the form of its shores, in their reports, 
as similar to that of a bended bow, the northern shore 
being the arc and the southern the cord, while Keweenaw 
Point, projecting from the southern shore to the middle of 
the lake, is the arrow. A description published bj one of 
them in Paris, in 1638, is accompanied with a map, dis- 
playing the geographical positions of its shores with as 
much fidelity as most of those of the present day. 

Almost the whole line of its shores is rock-bound ; the 
rocks, in many places, rising to the height of from ten to 
two hundred feet. One of the earliest discoverers described 
the lake as "an ocean in a storm, sculptured in granite," 
so striking was the aspect of its bold rocks and towering 
mountains, torn, as it were, from their places by some 
mighty convulsion of nature. In some places, mountain 
masses of considerable elevation stretch along the shore, 
while mural precipices, and beetling crags, oppose them- 
selves to the surges of this mighty lake, and threaten the 
unfortunate mariner, who may be caught in a storm on a 
lee shore, with almost inevitable destruction. 

High ranges of hills stretch along the northern shores, 
commencing in Canada, and reaching to Minnesota. They 
arise from twelve hundred to thirteen hundred feet above 
the lake, covered with a sparse and stunted growth of 
pines, and other varieties of evergreens, mixed with the 
usual northern vegetation of birch, aspen, and other trees 
peculiar to this region, and presenting scenery unrivalled 
for its beauty. The shore is indented with numerous small 
bays and harbors. Some of these bays afford secure shel- 
ter from storms, as they are sometimes overhung by high 
walls of rock, rising from 300 to 600 feet above the water. 
Several towns have recently been laid out on the American 
shore, which extends about one hundred and fifty miles 
along the northwestern coast of the lake. From the re- 



PICTURED ROCKS. 119 

ports of the settlers, and samples of their agricultural pro- 
ductions, it is inferred that its soil is capable of producing 
any of the productions of the Middle States. Already 
considerable quantities of lumber have been shipped to 
other lake ports from these new settlements. The "north 
shore" is also known to abound in vast deposits of valu- 
able minerals. 

In many parts, along the southern shore, the country is 
mountainous, the ridges rising, in some places, eight hun- 
dred feet above the lake, and covered with the original 
forest. Here the ''Porcupine range" is seen, presenting 
varying outlines as you sail along the coast. Keweenaw 
Point is also covered with hills, but less lofty and pictu- 
resque than those already mentioned. 

The eastern shores of the lake, between this point and 
its outlet at the St. Mary's river, are low, and covered 
with a dense forest. The "Pictured Rocks," on these 
shores, are a great curiosity. They form a perpendicular 
wall of over 300 feet in height, extending about ten miles. 
On their faces are to be seen numerous projections and in- 
dentations, with extensive caverns, which receive the waves 
with a tremendous roar. It needs but a bold stroke of the 
imagination to fancy we see mystic towers, columns, arches, 
Doric temples, and varied forms of architectural ruins ; 
their majestic fronts rising from the clear water, presenting 
a display that may fairly challenge the world to surpass. 
Can we wonder that the untutored savage, as he passed 
these majestic rocks in his canoe, associated them in his 
mind as the residence of a '' Mighty Manito ?" In the 
beautiful legends lately published by Longfellow, we read 
of an Indian hero, when pursued by Hiawatha, flying for 
refuge 

"To the Pictured Rocks of sandstone, 
Looking over lake and landscape ; 



180 CLIMATE. 

And the Old Man of the Mountain, 
He, the Manito of mountains. 
Opened wide his rocky doorways, 
Opened wide his deep abysses." 

The rapid settlement of the States on its borders, and 
the completion of the ship canal at the Sault Ste. Marie, 
have awakened attention to these hitherto neglected and 
almost unknown regions. In fact, it was supposed that its 
climate was inhospitable, its soil barren and unfit for culti- 
vation, and it was altogether unworthy of notice, saving 
on account of its valuable copper mines. The object of 
the author will be to prove that it has the finest and most 
salubrious climate in the United States, and now presents 
more attractions to the settler than any part of our extended 
domain. 

A healthier region does not exist ; here the common dis- 
eases of mankind are comparatively unknown. The light- 
ness of the atmosphere has a most invigorating effect upon 
the spirits, and the breast of the invalid swells with new 
emotions w^hen he inhales its healthy breezes, as they sweep 
across the lake. The subjoined observations were made by 
the Array Surgeons stationed at Fort Wilkins, Copper 
Harbor, in Lat. 47° 2t' N. ^ 

Mean Annual Temperature 41° 4' 

Mean Temperature of the Summer 61° 4' 

Mean Temperature of the Winter 21° V 

Dr. Owen says: — "The health, even of the more 
marshy portions of this district, seems better than, from its 
appearance, one might expect. The long bracing winters 
of these northern latitudes exclude many of the diseases 
which, under the prolonged heat of a more southern cli- 
mate, the miasm of the swamp engenders. At the Pem- 
bina settlement (in latitude 49°), owned by the Hudson's 



CLIMATE. 181 

Bay Company, to a population of five thousand, there was 
but a single physician, and he told me, that without an 
additional salary allowed him by the Company, the diseases 
of the settlement would not afford him a living." 

None of the American Lakes can compare with Lake 
Superior in healthfulness of climate during the summer 
months, and there is no place so well calculated to restore 
the health of an invalid, who has suffered from the de- 
pressing miasms of the fever-breeding soil of the South- 
western States. This opinion is fast gaining ground among 
medical men, who are now recommending to their patients 
the healthful climate of this favored lake, in preference to 
sending them to die in enervating southern latitudes. 

The waters of this vast inland sea, covering an area of 
over 32,000 miles, exercise a powerful influence in modi- 
fying the two extremes of heat and cold. The uniformity 
of temperature thus produced is highly favorable to animal 
and vegetable life. The most delicate fruits and plants 
are raised wiilwut injury, while four or five degrees further 
south they are destroyed by the early frosts. It is a sin- 
gular fact, that Lake Superior never freezes in the middle ; 
and, along the shores, the ice seldom extends out more than 
fifteen to eighteen miles. The temperature of its waters 
rarely, if ever, change, and are almost always at 40° Fah- 
renheit — the maximum density of water. In midsummer 
its climate is delightful beyond comparison, while, at the 
same time, the air is softly bracing. The winds are vari- 
able, and rarely continue for more than two or three days 
in the same quarter. 

In my opinion, there is nothing relating to Lake Supe- 
rior more misrepresented, and less understood, than its 
winters, the very mention of which, a few years ago, and 
even at the present time, in the Atlantic States, conveys 
almost a sensation of misery — but how far from the reality ? 
16 



182 CLIMATE. 

Instead of snow, sleet, rain, and fog, alternating with very 
little sunshine, what do we find ? The winter season is said 
to be, by the oldest residents, the most agreeable part of 
the year, with plenty of clear blue sky, fine bracing atmo- 
sphere, and very little rain from the month of November 
until April. Besides, coughs, colds, and diseases of the 
lungs are comparatively unknown here, and this alone 
should recommend the climate of Lake Superior. 

'Tis true, snow falls to a considerable depth, making the 
roads level, and filling up all their inequalities ; and, so far 
from being an inconvenience, adds greatly to the comfort 
and happiness of all. This is the season for hilarity and 
social enjoyment ; its lengthened eve is full of fireside joys. 
In this region, less snow falls than in either the New Eng- 
land States or northern part of New York. The testimony 
of the oldest fur-traders, long accustomed to this climate, 
proves the truth of these assertions. 

The Hon. Henry M. Rice, the present delegate from 
Minnesota Territory, in a letter dated June 3d, 1854, says: 
"For several years, I had trading-posts extending from 
Lake Superior to the Red River of the North, from 46° 
to 49'^ north latitude, and never found the snow so deep 
as to prevent supplies being transported from one post to 
another with horses. Between the 45th and 49th degrees 
north latitude, the snow does not fall so deep as it does 
between the 40th and 45th degrees ; this is easily accounted 
for, upon the same principle that, in the fall, they have 
frosts much earlier near the 40th than they do near the 45th 
degree. Yoyageurs traverse the territory from Lake Su- 
perior to the Missouri the entire winter with horses and 
sleighs, having to make their own roads, and yet with 
heavy loads are not detained by snow. I have also gone 
from the head waters of the Mississippi to the waters of 
the Hudson Bay, on foot, and without snow shoes. I spent 



ISLANDS. 183 

one entire winter travelling through that region, and never 
found the snow over eighteen inches deep, and seldom over 
nine inches. One winter, north of Al^ north latitude, I 
wintered about sixty head of horses and cattle, without 
giving them food of any kind, except such as they could 
procure themselves under the snow. Owing to its altitude, 
the atmosphere is dry beyond belief, which accounts for the 
absence of frosts in tlie fall, and for the small quantity of 
snow that falls in a country so far north." 

There are but few islands in Lake Superior. The largest 
of them is Isle Royale, in the western part. Some of the 
best harbors on the lake are on its shores, but, as yet, they 
are rarely visited. Its sides are covered with forest. la 
winter, the ice has been known to extend from the Cana- 
dian shore to this island, a distance of twenty miles. Isle 
Royale is celebrated for its copper mines, the most im- 
portant of which are to be found on its northern shores ; 
but, at present, the explorations have been too limited to 
form a just impression of their value and extent. It is also 
celebrated for its valuable fisheries, and exports several 
thousand barrels to the Eastern markets. 

Between Isle Royale and the main land are two large 
islands, of which, however, little is known ; in the northern 
part of the lake are four more. The most interesting 
group of islands is the Apostles' Isles, a cluster of consi- 
derable importance, embraced within an area of four hun- 
dred square miles. Madeline is the largest, being thirteen 
miles long, and with an average breadth of two miles. 
Its surface is level, and the soil rich and fertile. This 
island is situated about three miles from the Wisconsin 
coast, forming one of the best natural harbors on the lake. 
Its climate is justly celebrated. Tempered, as well in sum- 
mer as in winter, by the vast expanse of water that sur- 
rounds it, and which, except at the immediate surface, is 



184 ISLANDS. 

almost always at 40° Fahrenheit, its climate is milder, at 
once, and more equable, than any part of Wisconsin, 
whether it be on the main land of Lake Superior, or fur- 
ther south, on the Mississippi.^ 

Thoujyh Madeline Island contains some fifteen thousand 
acres of valuable arable land, and a population of over 
three hundred souls, but two or three hundred acres are 
under cultivation. Any one who supposes this region is 
too far north to raise good fruit and vegetables, should 
ramble through some of its gardens, 4n the month of Au- 
gust or September, and see for himself the fine thrifty 
vegetables, ripe currants, etc., besides apple trees and 
grape vines laden with fruit. 

Bear Island and Esquagendeg are the next largest 
islands of this group, and are each about four miles long 
by two and a half wide. They are principally covered 
with a thick growth of evergreens along the shores, while 
the rest of their surface is covered with cedar, hemlock, 
birch, aspen, and pine, with occasional natural meadows. 
The waters around them teem with the finest fish. We 
believe that these islands have been, within the last two 
years, claimed by settlers. 

Grand Island, extensive and rock-bound, lies in the 
southern part of the lake, two miles from the Michigan 
shore, and forms a most excellent harbor. The remaining 
islands of Lake Superior are near its outlet, including the 
island of Michipicoten, which is one-third as large as Isle 
Koyale, and believed to abound in copper. 

Lake Superior is subject to as violent storms as the At- 
lantic, rendering the navigation at times, and particularly 
late in the fall and winter, exceedingly dangerous. Owing 
to the lofty crags which surround it, the winds sweeping 
over the lake impinge upon its surface so abruptly a:s to 

1 Owen's Geological Repoi-t. 



LAKE SUPERIOR. 185 

raise a peculiarly deep and combing sea, which is exceed- 
ingly dangerous to boats and small craft.' During the 
months of June, July, and August, the navigation is per- 
fectly safe. Its blue, cold, and transparent waters, undis- 
turbed by tides, are, during these months, as motionless 
and glassy as those of any small secluded lake, reflecting, 
with perfect truth of form and color, the inverted landscape 
that slopes down to its smooth, sandy beach. The mirage 
on this lake is truly wonderful. It is not uncommon to see 
islands far in the distance, which gradually disappear as 
they are approached. In some of the bays, the water is so 
clear that a diver could pick up a small silver coin at a 
depth of over thirty feet, and the whole of the lower part 
of the vessel can be distinctly seen. 

1 Dr. Jackson's Report. 



16* 



CHAPTER II. 

MINERAL RESOURCES — COPPER, SILVER, AND IRON — CHA- 
RACTER OF THE SOIL — FISHERIES COMMERCE — SAULT 

STE. MARIE CANAL — GENERAL REMARKS. 

The earliest visitors to Lake Superior were, no doubt, 
well acquainted with its rich deposits of copper ore. More 
than one of their published descriptions mention it. Char- 
levoix' states that "such was its purity, that one of the 
monks, who had been bred a goldsmith, made from it several 
sacramental articles." 

" The savages," he says, "on account of the quantity 
of fish furnished by Lake Superior, and of the respect 
inspired by its vast extent, have made it a sort of divinity, 
and offer to it sacrifices in their manner." He thinks, 
nevertheless, it is rather to the genius of the lake, than to 
the lake itself, that they address their prayers. " If one 
may believe them," says he, "the origin of the lake has 
something divine in it. It was formed, they imagine, by 
Michabou, the god of waters, in order to supply them with 
beaver. In the strait by which it is discharged into Lake 
Huron, there is a rapid, caused by great rocks, called 
Sault Ste. Marie. These rocks, according to the Indians, 
are the remains of a causeway which God had built, to hold 
the waters of the river and those of Lake Alimepegon, 
which filled this great lake. 

"In places on its borders, and about some of its islands, 
we found large pieces of copper, which are yet the object 

(186) 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 18t 

of the superstitious adoration of the savages. They regard 
them with veneration, as a present from the gods who in- 
habit the waters. They collect the smallest fragments of 
it, and preserve them with care, but make no use of them. 
They say that formerly they have seen a large rock, all of 
the same mineral, raised much above the water, and, as it 
is not now to be seen, they say that the gods have removed 
it somewhere else. But there is reason to suppose that, in 
the lapse of time, the waves of the lake have covered it with 
sand and ooze ; and it is certain that we discovered, in 
many places, a large quantity of this metal, without even 
being obliged to dig much. 

'' On my first voyage to this country, I knew a brother 
of our order who was a goldsmith by trade, who, while on 
his mission at Sault Ste. Marie, had gone in search of it, 
and had made chandeliers, crosses, and censers of it ; for 
the copper is often almost wholly pure." 

Claude Allonez, a Jesuit missionary, and one of the 
earliest explorers of the lake, says : *' The savages respect 
this lake as a divinity, and make sacrifices to it, on account, 
perhaps, of its magnitude, or for its goodness in furnishing 
them with fishes, which nourish all these people, where 
there is but little game. There are often found, beneath 
the water, pieces of copper, well formed, and of the weight 
of ten and twenty pounds. I have seen them many times 
in the hands of the savages ; and, as they are superstitious, 
they keep them as so many divinities, or as presents from 
the gods beneath the water, who have given them as 
pledges of good fortune. On that account, they keep the 
pieces of copper enveloped among their most precious 
furniture. There are some who have preserved them for 
more than fifty years, and others who have had them in 
their families from time immemorial, and cherish them as 
household gods." 



188 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Messrs. Foster and Whitney, in their interesting geolo- 
gical report to Congress, on the mineral district of Lake 
Superior, in 1850-51, remark : " That this region was re- 
sorted to by a barbaric race for the purpose of procuring 
copper, long before it became known to the white man, is 
evident from numerous memorials scattered throughout its 
entire extent. Whether these ancient miners belonged to 
the race who built the mounds found so abundantly on the 
Upper Mississippi and its affluents, or were the progeni- 
tors of the Indians now inhabiting the country, is a matter 
of conjecture. 

' ' When all of the facts shall have been collected, the 
question may be satisfactorily determined. The evidence 
of the early mining consists in the existence of numerous 
excavations in the solid rock ; of heaps of rubble and earth 
along the courses of the veins ; of the remains of copper 
utensils, fashioned into the form of knives and chisels ; of 
stone hammers, some of which are of immense size and 
weight ; of wooden bowls, for bailing water from the 
mines ; and numerous levers of wood, used in raising the 
mass copper to the surface. 

" The high antiquity of this rude mining is inferred from 
the fact, that the existing race of Indians have no tradi- 
tions by what people, or at what period, it was done. The 
places, even, were unknown to the oldest of the band until 
pointed out by the white man. It is inferred from the cha- 
racter of the trees growing upon the piles of rubbish — be- 
tween which and those forming the surrounding forest no 
perceptible difference can be detected ; from the mouldering 
state of the wooden billets and levers ; and from the nature 
of the materials with which these excavations are filled, 
consisting of fine clay, enveloping half-decayed leaves, and 
the bones of the bear, the deer, and caribou. This filling 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 189 

up resulted, not from the action of temporary streamlets, 
but from the slow accumulations of years. 

"These evidences are observed on this location for a 
distance of two and a half miles. Upon a mound of earth 
we saw a pine stump, broken fifteen feet from the ground, 
ten feet in circumference, which must have grown, flour- 
ished, and died, since the earth in which it had taken root 
was thrown out. Mr. Knapp counted three hundred and 
ninety-five annular rings on a hemlock, growing under 
similar circumstances, which he felled near one of his 
shafts. Thus it would appear that these explorations were 
made before Columbus started on his voyage of discovery. 

" The amount of ancient hammers found in this vicinity 
exceeded ten cart-loads, and Mr. K., with little reverence 
for the past, employed a portion of them in walling up a 
spring. They are made of greenstone or porphyry peb- 
bles, with a groove, single or double, cut around, by which 
a withe was attached. 

"Mr. Wm. H. Stevens, the agent of the Forrest Mine, 
has discovered other workings on the southwest quarter of 
section 30, township 50, range 39, almost of equal extent 
and interest. They occur on the southern slope of a hill, 
and consist of a series of pits, some of which, on being 
opened, are found to be fourteen feet deep. They are ar- 
ranged in four lines, following the courses of four veins or 
feeders. 

" In cleaning out one of these pits, at the depth of ten 
feet, the workmen came across a fragment of a wooden 
bowl, which, from the splintry pieces of rock and gravel 
imbedded in its rim, must have been employed in bailing- 
water. 

" From the northeast quarter of section 31, township 51, 
range 3t, to section 5, township 49, range 40, a distance 
of nearly thirty miles, there is almost a continuous line of 



190 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

ancient pits along the middle range of trap, though they 
are not exclusively confined to it. 

"Upon Keweenaw Point they have been found extend- 
ing from Eagle river eastward to range 28, a distance of 
twelve miles, along the base of the trap range." 

It is evident that these early miners were not more ad- 
vanced towards civilization than the Indians generally, 
because the mining and other implements found in these 
ancient excavations, are precisely similar to those which are 
known to have been in use among the tribes of the Atlan- 
tic coast. The stone hammers, made of oval pebbles, 
grooved about the middle for withes, which formed the 
handles, were the native instruments for breaking out pieces 
of copper on Lake Superior, and for breaking the hard 
rocks of Moosehead Lake, for the arrow and spear-heads 
of the Eastern Indians. Such hammers, together with 
half-finished stone scalping-knives, have been found both at 
Ontonagon and at Eagle Eiver. The Indian miner also 
assisted the operation of breaking the rocks by kindling 
fires upon them ; and hence the origin of the charred 
brands and coal that have been found around the battered 
and beaten projections of copper. 

The first Englishman that ever visited the copper region 
was Alexander Henry, who remained several years there, 
exploring for minerals. We extract from his journal the 
following account of his discoveries : 

"On the 19th of August, 1165, we reached the mouth 
of the Ontonagon river, one of the largest on the south 
side of the lake. At the mouth was an Indian village, and, 
three leagues above, a fall, at the foot of which sturgeon, 
at this season, were obtained so abundant that a month's 
subsistence for a regiment could have been taken in a few 
hours. But I found this river chiefly remarkable for the 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 191 

abundance of virgin copper which is on its banks and in its 
neighborhood. 

"On my way back to Miehilimackinaw, I encamped a 
second time at the mouth of the Ontonagon river, and now 
took the opportunity of going ten miles up the river with 
Indian guides. The object for which I most expressly 
went, and to which I had the satisfaction of being led, was 
a mass of copper, of the weight, according to my estimate, 
of no less than five tons. Such was its pure and malleable 
state, that, with an axe, I was able to cut off a portion 
weighing a hundred pounds. On viewing the surrounding 
surface, I conjectured that the mass, at some period or 
other, had rolled down the side of a lofty hill which rises 
at its back." ' 

The first copper mining company on Lake Superior was 
organized by this enterprising explorer. In 1770, Messrs. 
Baxter, Bostwick, and Henry, built a barge at Pointe aux 
Pius, and laid the keel of a sloop of forty tons. They 
were in search of gold and silver, and expected to make 
their fortunes. The other partners, in England, were " His 
Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester; Mr. Secretary 
Townshend ; Sir Samuel Tuchet, Bart. ; Mr. Baxter, 
Consul of the Empress of Russia, and Mr. Cruikshank ; 
in America, Sir William Johnson, Bart., Mr. Bostwick, 
Mr. Baxter, and myself. A charter had been petitioned 
for and obtained ; but owing to our ill success, it Avas 
never taken from the seal office." The sloop and other 
effects of the Company, were sold by Mr. Baxter to pay 
its debts. The American Revolution shortly after com- 

1 In 1820, Schoolcraft, who accompanied General Cass on his ex- 
pedition to the Mississippi, mentions this rock in his journal, "as 
one of the largest and most remarkable bodies of native copper on 
the globe." A few years later it was removed to Washington, where 
it may now be seen lying on the ground, near the War Department. 



192 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

menced, and the mineral resources of the lakes were for- 
gotten. 

The celebrated Captain Jonathan Carver, who visited 
these regions about the year 1769, in his observations on 
the copper mines of Lake Superior, says : — "It might, in 
future times, be made a very advantageous trade, as the 
metal, which costs nothing on the spot, and requires but 
little expense to get it on board, could be conveyed in 
boats and canoes through the Falls of St. Mary, to the 
Isle of St. Joseph, which lies at the bottom of the strait, 
near the entrance of Lake Huron ; from thence it might be 
put on board larger vessels, and in them be transported 
across that lake to the Falls of Niagara ; then being car- 
ried by land across the portage, it might be conveyed with- 
out much more obstruction to Quebec. The cheapness and 
ease with which any quantity of it may be procured, will 
make up for the length of way that is necessary to trans- 
port it before it reaches the sea coast, and enable the pro- 
prietors to send it to foreign markets on as good terms as 
it can be exported from other countries." 

Samuel Preston, in a letter dated Stockport, Pa., May 
1st, 1820, says: — "Dr. Franklin told me that when he 
was drawing the treaty of peace with England in the city 
of Paris, he had access to the journals and charts of a 
corps of French engineers, that had sloops and were ex- 
ploring Lake Superior when Quebec fell to the British, 
from which chart he drew the line through Lake Superior 
to include the most and the best of the copper to the 
United States ; and the time would come, when drawing 
that line would be considered the greatest service he ever 
rendered his country. The facilities of transportation 
would be well improved so as to export that copper ore to 
Europe cheaper than they raised it from their own mines." 

The experiment of sending ships loaded with native 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 193 

copper from Lake Superior has never yet been tried. 
There can be no doubt of its success. Ships have cleared 
from Chicago loaded with grain for Liverpool, which 
brought high prices on arrival. The distance from the 
mines of the lake is somewhat less to the ocean than from 
Chicago, A great part of the copper in some of these 
mines is found nearly pure, and taken out in masses of from 
one to ten tons in weight. Several years ago, a block of 
copper from Lake Superior was sent to London as a spe- 
cimen ; the geologists there could not be convinced, at 
first, but that it was a Yankee trick — they had never heard 
of copper being found in such a pure state, and supposed 
the block had been cast for the purpose of exhibition. The 
writer passed through the Sault St^ Marie Canal, on the 
propeller Manhattan, in July, 1856, with a cargo of about 
two hundred tons of nearly pure copper. A large part of 
it was in masses of from two to six tons weight ; there 
were also many barrels containing virgin copper in small 
lumps, from six to eight hundred pounds to the barrel. 
This cargo was consigned to Detroit and Cleveland. 

The first definite information in regard to the mineral 
resources of Lake Superior, was published in 1841, by Dr. 
Douglas Houghton, Geologist to the State of Michigan ; 
and his report did more than anything else to awaken pub- 
lic interest in this region. In 1843, the Chippewas ceded 
their lands, extending from the Chocolate to the Montreal 
river, and southerly as far as the boundary of Wisconsin, 
to the United States. Upon the ratification of the treaty 
numerous settlers arrived, among them several miners from 
Wisconsin, who selected large tracts of land, including 
many of those now occupied by the best mines of the coun- 
try. In the summer of 1844, the first mining operations 
were commenced, and many masses of native copper, some 
of which contained silver, and were of large size, were dis- 

n 



194 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

covered. These facts were reported in the Eastern cities 
with great exaggerations, and a great excitement, or 
*' copper fever," ensued; and, in 1845, the shores of Ke- 
weenaw Point were whitened with the tents of speculators 
and so-called geologists. 

In 1846, the excitement had reached its climax ; the 
speculations in stocks were continued as long as it was pos- 
sible to find a purchaser, and a serious injury was inflicted 
on the mining interests of the country, by the unprincipled 
attempts to palm off worthless land as containing valuable 
veins. But every such mania must have an end, and in 
1847 the bubble had burst, many were ruined, and the 
country was almost deserted. Out of all the companies 
which had been formed, not more than half a dozen were 
actually engaged in mining. 

Since this period, public attention has been again drawn 
toward the Superior country. Its mineral lands have been 
partly surveyed, and much information obtained relating 
to localities where the ores of copper, iron and silver 
abound, A considerable number of mining companies have 
been organized, and some of them are in successful ope- 
ration. The time has now arrived when public opinion 
is convinced of the value of mineral productions ; and it is 
understood that good working mines are sure to command 
and reward the energies of capitalists and miners, since it 
is proved that mining is liable to no greater risks of failure 
than ordinary mercantile enterprises, provided due precau- 
tion be exercised by the adventurers in the selection of 
their mines, and in working them to advantage. 

As it is desirable to give as full an account as possible 
of the vast mineral wealth of Lake Superior, we shall em- 
body in this chapter the statements of Dr. Charles T. Jack- 
son, late U. S. Geologist and Chemist, as given in his report 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 195 

to Grovernment, and which must be received as high au- 
thority : 

" On approaching the Sault Ste. Marie by the St. Mary's 
river, the geologist has an opportunity of discovering the 
age of the sandstone strata, by observing that the limestone 
of St. Joseph's island, and of the other numerous isles in 
that river, are rocks of the Devonian group, and contain 
the characteristic fossils by which that rock is determined 
to be the equivalent of those of Eifel. 

" It is obvious, then, that the red and gray sandstone 
of Lake Superior are above Devonian rocks, and, there- 
fore, cannot be older than the coal formation ; while, from 
their lithological character, they appear to belong to the 
Permean system of Yerneuil and Murchison. Above the 
Sault we see these red and gray sandstones dipping at a 
gentle angle into the lake, showing that they do in fact dip 
directly opposite to the direction that would be required to 
make them dip beneath the limestone on St. Mary's river. 

" Following the coast to I'Anse, or Keweenaw Bay, we 
find, on the south side of that bay, large beds of slate 
rocks, some of which are good novaculite or whetstone 
slate. On the northern side of the bay we find a long 
series of cliffs of red sandstone perfectly horizontal, or, at 
most, wavy, extending all the way to Bete Gris. This 
sandstone, as before observed at Sturgeon river, surrounds 
a mass of Silurian limestone, containing shells, known as 
the Pentamerus ohlongus, one of which I discovered in a 
piece of the limestone brought to me by one of my assist- 
ants in 1848. 

'' Doubling the cape, we soon pass Horseshoe Cove and 
reach Copper Harbor, the site of Fort Wilkins, and one 
of the first places where copper ore was noticed by the 
French Jesuits, since whose time it has ever been known 



196 MINERAL ilESOURCES. 

to the Tovageurs on the lake under the name of the green 
rock, 

" While constructing the fort at Copper Harbor, nume- 
rous boulders of black oxide of copper, a very rare ore of 
that metal, were discovered ; and before long a vein of thivS 
valuable ore was discovered in the conglomerate rocks, 
near the pickets which enclose the parade ground. This 
was found to be a continuation of the vein called the green 
rock at Hayes' Point, and was immediately opened by the 
Boston and Pittsburg Mining Company. Unfortunately, 
however, the vein was soon cut off, as I had ventured to 
predict it would be, by a heavy stratum of fine-grained red 
sandstone, which is not cupriferous. There the vein was 
found to consist wholly of calcareous spar, and of earthy 
minerals of no economical value. 

"The miners w^ere then transferred to the cliff, near 
Eagle river, where I had surveyed a valuable vein of native 
copper, mixed with silver. This vein has since been fully 
proved, and is one of the wonders of the world, there being 
solid masses of pure copper in the vein of more than one 
hundred tons weight each, besides masses of smaller size in 
other parts of the vein. This mine has produced about 
900 tons of copper per annum, and is one of the most 
valuable copper mines in the country. It is a regular me- 
tallic vein, in amygdaloidal trap-rock, which underlies the 
compact trap-rock that caps the hill. The spot is one of 
the finest locations for mining purposes that I have seen, 
the vein being exposed in the face of a cliff 300 feet above 
the level of the southwest branch of Eagle river. This 
vein, when first discovered, was far from disclosing its real 
value. A perpendicular vein of prehnite, six inches wide 
at the top of the cliff, was observed to contain a few par- 
ticles of copper and silver, not amounting to more than 
two per cent of the mass. About half way down the cliff 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 191 

this vein of prehnite was found to be a foot and a half 
wide, and contained five and a half per cent, of copper, and 
some silver. It was thought worth while to drive a level 
into the lower part of the cliff, where, according to the 
rate of widening of the vein, it ought to be from two to 
three feet wide. This was done at my suggestion, and a 
magnificent lode of copper was disclosed ; many lumps of 
solid copper of several hundred weight being found mixed 
with the vein-stone. On sinking a shaft at this point the 
solid metallic copper was soon found to occupy nearly the 
whole width of the chasm, and immense blocks of copper 
are now taken from this vein by the miners, who are work- 
ing levels 300 or more feet below the mouth of the shaft. 
Large quantities of lumps of copper, called barrel ore, and 
rock rich in smaller pieces of copper, mixed with silver, are 
now raised, this last being called stamp ore, and worked 
by stamping and washing the ore. From this stamp work 
about five thousand dollars' worth of pure silver is picked 
out by hand, and much is still left among the finer particles 
of metal, and goes into the melted copper," 

To get out these huge masses of copper, a place is 
sought in the shaft where a hole may be bored into the 
rock, and a heavy blast is fired. This starts the cop- 
per from the wall of rocks, and sometimes removes it 
entirely. It is then cut up by means of steel chisels, driven 
by blows of a heavy sledge-hammer — one man holding the 
chisel, while the other strikes with the sledge ; a groove is 
morticed out across the mass of copper, and then a series 
of ribbons of it, about a quarter of an inch in thickness, 
are cut out, until the channel thus morticed divides the 
mass. The copper is perfectly malleable and ductile, and 
is very tough. The masses of solid copper are very pure, 
and ought to yield more than ninety per cent, of refined 
metal. Such are the facilities of transportation presented 
It* 



198 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

by tlie Lake steamboats and propellers, that it requires but 
three or four days, generally, from the time these masses 
see the light, to deliver them at the smelting works of Chi- 
cago, Detroit, or Cleveland. 

" There are other valuable copper mines on Eagle river. 
The Xorlh American Company, which has one end of the 
cliff vein, called the south cliff mine, and another, on which 
their mining operations commenced some years ago, is at 
present in successful operation, and will add much to the 
exports of copper from the lake. 

"The Lake Superior Copper Company, which was the 
first that engaged in these mining operations, that gave 
value to this district, opened its first mines on Eagle river 
in 1844. Under the very unfavorable state of things which 
then existed in the savage and uncivilized state of the coun- 
try, and after two or three years' labor, they very unfortu- 
nately sold their mines, at the precise moment when they 
were upon the vein that now has proved to be so very rich 
in copper and silver. The Phoenix Copper Company, 
formed of the remains of the Lake Superior Company, 
opened these mines anew, and now these give ample en- 
couragement to the new adventurers, who will doubtless 
reap their reward in valuable returns for their labor and 
enterprise. ' ' 

At this mine, shaft number two, passing into the west- 
ern side of the vein, was very rich in copper and silver at 
the surface, and impoverished as it left it in descending. 
After working downward for a time, through barren rock, 
the miners sent off a level toward the river, with the inten- 
tion of striking the vein under the stream ; but, to their 
great surprise, opened into a deep and wide ravine or an- 
cient channel of the river, filled with great masses of cop- 
per, lumps of copper and silver mixed, small globules of 
pure silver — all rounded and worn by the action of running 



MINERAL RESO'URCES. 199 

water, and mixed with sand, gravel, and pebbles. A 
single mass of silver was obtained from this ravine which 
weighed more than six pounds, and was worth one hundred 
and thirty dollars.' That lump of silver is now in the 
cabinet of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia. 
Masses of copper were also found weighing a thousand 
pounds. These were exported to France.^ 

"The Copper Falls Mine, another branch of the Lake 
Superior Company, is also engaged in working valuable 
veins of native copper and silver, and has sent some of 
their metals to market. 

" The Northwest Company has a valuable mine a few 
miles from Eagle Harbor, and the metal raised therefrom 
is very rich and abundant, some of it being mixed with 
sprigs and particles of metallic silver. This mine, if opened 
with due skill, and in as bold a manner as that of the 
Boston and Pittsburg Company, at the cliff, cannot fail to 
prove of great value. 

" The rocks which contain native copper, on Keweenaw 
Point, are of that kind called amygdaloidal trap, which is 
a vesicular rock, formed by the interfusion of sandstone 
and trap rock, and is the product of the combination of 
the two gaseous- bubbles, or aqueous vapors, which have 
blown it into a sort of scoria a-t the time of its formation. 
It is in this rock that we find the copper-bearing prehnite, 
and other vein-stones peculiar to the copper lodes. 

*' The northern or British shore of Lake Superior has, 
as yet, been but little explored, either geologically or for 
minerals. One mine of blende, or sulphuret of zinc, richly 
mixed with spangles of native silver, and a vein of sul- 
phuret of copper, have been discovered at Prince's Bay, 

1 In 1856, a mass of pure silver was discovered in one of these 
mines, worth $1040. 

2 Foster and Whitney's Report. 



200 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

on the north shore, not far from Isle Royale. I know not 
what progress has been made in developing the ores of this 
mine, but at the time when I examined it, in 1841, it gave 
promise of rich returns. As a general thing, the copper 
on the northern shore is mineralized by sulphur, and occurs 
as yellow copper pyrites, or as gray or black sulphurets of 
copper, while the copper on the south shore, and on Isle 
Royale, is mostly in the metallic state, and all the valuable 
working mines are there opened for the native metal. This 
is a remarkable reversion of the usual laws of mineral veins, 
and was first discovered and pointed out by myself; and 
the first mines for native copper were opened by my advice, 
and in accordance with my surveys, in 1844, as before 
stated. This remarkable region has certainly surprised 
both geologists and miners by its wonderful lodes of native 
copper, and by the lumps of pure silver which have been 
opened and brought to light by enterprising companies and 
skilful engineers. 

"One of the most remarkable associations of metals is 
here observed in the intermixture of pure silver with pure 
copper, the two metals being perfectly united without any 
alloying of one with the other.' This singular condition 
of these two metals has puzzled chemists and mineralogists ; 
and the solution of the problem of their mode of deposition 
in the veins is still undiscovered. It is obvious, from ex- 
periment, and from all we know of the affinities of metals 
for each other, that the native copper was not injected in 
a molten state into the veins. Although I have discovered 
the manner in which the copper veins were probably formed, 
I am far from having learned that of the silver, for we 
know of no volatile salt, or combination of that metal. 

^ The author was presented with a lump, weighing over siz ounces, 
of the same description mentioned by Dr. Jackson. On removing the 
copper its weight was found to be /our ounces. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 201 

" The rocks known to belong to the cupriferous forma- 
tion of Lake Superior are all of igneous formation, or liave 
been thrown up from the unknown interior of the globe in 
a molten state, and in long rents, having a somewhat cres- 
centic shape, with the curve toward the north and west ; 
the radius of the arc not being far from thirty miles in 
length on Keweenaw Point. The average width of this 
belt is not more than five miles, while its length is not less 
than two hundred miles. The Keweenaw belt of trap runs 
by the Ontonagon river, narrowing to only a mile in width 
in some parts of its course, and then widening rapidly as 
it extends into Wisconsin. 

"On the Ontonagon river it is about four miles wide ; 
and it is here highly cupriferous, several important veins, 
now wrought by mining companies, having been discovered 
by the miners in their employ on this river and in its 
vicinity. The Minnesota Mine has been, thus far, the most 
successful of those opened upon this part of the trap range. 
It is remarked by all the geologists and miners who have 
examined these rocks, that the copper ore lies in the amyg- 
daloidal variety of tbem, and that the veins of native cop- 
per are pinched out into narrow sheets in the harder trap 
rock which overlies the amygdaloid. This fact was first 
noticed by Mr. Alger and myself in the geological survey 
of Nova Scotia, made by us in 1827, and the private 
geological surveys which I made on Keweenaw Point, in 
1844 and 1845, proved it to be true also in that region ; so 
that it is a law now well known to the miner upon the Lake 
Superior land district. It was discovered, also, that the 
copper dies out in the veins when they cut through sand- 
stone rocks." 

The following description of recent discoveries of im- 
mense masses of copper is taken from the Lake Superior 
Miner of February 28, 185t : 



202 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

"The most astonishing developments have recently been 
made at the Minnesota mines. It would seem that won- 
ders were never to cease on that location. Geological 
dogmatists were somewhat surprised when they began to 
take copper in large masses from the south lode of the 
Minnesota, and from the National mines. It was against 
the rule which they had established in relation to veins, 
because a vein proper must cut the formation, and could 
not, as they declared, lie between two kinds of rocks so 
completely dissimilar as trap and conglomerate. The sub- 
sequent works on the Minnesota have proved this vein to 
be one of the most valuable in mineral of any yet discovered 
upon the globe. 

"Another peculiar feature among the phenomena of this 
lode has been discovered by the late openings. They are 
finding immense masses of copper in the conglomerate 
under the vein. A few days since, when we were in the 
mine, this was shown in the most marked manner at several 
points. In the twenty-fathom level, east of No. 5 shaft, 
south lode, the regular sheet copper had been taken from 
the foot wall, and the yield at this point had been very 
great. The masses were from twelve to eighteen inches 
thick. Strings of copper were cut off that vseemed to 
branch into the conglomerate. These were followed, and 
led immediately to very large masses, some of which were 
of the thickest copper ever before taken from the mine. 
One piece, which was cut up, presented a face of bright 
copper cut by the chisel, three feet and nine inches in 
thickness. It was so thick that it could not be handled in 
the mine without again dividing longitudinally, or sjDlitting, 
as they call it. Thus the mass showed two flat -surfaces, 
at right angles with each other, of bright copper cut by 
the chisel.- 

" This point in the mine has been extremely productive. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 203 

Some two hundred tons of large masses have been taken 
out of the conglomerate under the lode, besides the enor- 
mous yield of the vein itself overlying it. In one place 
the copper extended into the conglomerate as far as sixteen 
feet south of the foot wall. 

" An occurrence of copper in all respects similar is found 
to the west of No. 5, under the adit level. Besides the 
masses in the regular vein, which was also extremely rich 
at this point, they had taken only forty or fifty tons out of 
the conglomerate. The foot wall was perfect, as in the 
other case, and the strings leading into the conglomerate 
were quite small, and very slightly attached. But by tri- 
fling labor they uncovered a series of masses going up and 
down, with an eastward inclination, for the height of seventy 
or eighty feet, and going out of sight both ab.ve and below. 
It was at once apparent that they had something very 
valuable, but they had no conception of the immense mass 
which a few days' work disclosed. At one convenient 
point they broke away behind the copper, so as to get in a 
sand-blast of five or six kegs of powder. They then 
stripped the mass further, and fired again without result. 
Again they fired nine kegs, and the mass remained un- 
moved. Breaking the rock around for a considerable dis- 
tance, eighteen kegs were shot off without effect; and 
again twenty-two kegs, and the copper entirely undisturbed 
at any point. After further clearing, twenty-five kegs were 
shot off under the copper, and it was thought with some 
effect. But a final blast of thirty kegs, or 750 pounds, 
was securely stamped beneath the mass and fired. As 
soon as the hot air and powder-smoke had time to clear 
away, a mass of copper, some forty-five feet in height, and 
from three to five feet in thickness, apparently very pure, 
and which will probably weigh three hundred tons, had 



204 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

been shot out, and was ready for cutting up.' The blast 
had torn the immense body from its bed, without exliibiting 
a sign of bending or cracking it in any place, so great was 
its thickness and strength. It was torn off from other 
masses, which still remain in the solid rock. 

"About one hundred feet to the east of this is another 
large mass, which several parties are exposing, and from 
present appearances it may even exceed in size the last- 
named one. 

"These are near the point of the great counter lode, 
of which we have spoken heretofore, from which 300 to 400 
tons of copper have been taken ; and the ground in the 
vicinity has unquestionably yielded the greatest amount of 
mineral ever taken from the earth in the same space. Its 
occurrence has been in three distinct forms: — 1. In the 
counter just named ; 2. In the regular vein ; and, 3. In 
the conglomerate rock under the vein. 

" At the No. 2 shaft they are sinking below the sixty- 
fathom level, and experience great difficulty in getting 
through the copper which they encounter. It was feared 
that they would be compelled to turn the shaft entirely out 
of the vein to enable them to sink. 

" But little heavy copper has hitherto been taken from 
the eastern part of their workings. This has been mainly 
owing to the want of power for clearing the mine of water 

1 It will probably require one year or more to cut up this immense 
piece of copper. Eight masses were taken off in April, weighing, in 
the aggregate, 50,601 lbs., to which should be added 13 bbls. copper 
chips, 7310 lbs., giving a grand aggregate of nearly 29 tons. The 
total amount taken from it in every form, up to the month of May, 
is 70 tons and 592 lbs. The product of the Minnesota Mine for 
April, 1857, was 370,540 lbs., or 185 tons and 550 lbs. This is pro- 
bably the largest amount ever taken from one mine in the world in 
a similar period. The price of copper ranges at about twenty-five 
cents per pound at the mines. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 205 

and dirt. The new en^^ine at No. 6 shaft has been in ope- 
ration for some five weeks. It is the most powerful ma- 
chine on the location, works admirably, and is doing a 
splendid duty. It has already made room for twenty-five 
or thirty miners in that part of the ground. Masses of 
thirty to forty tons weight are now uncovered in the back 
of 30, near No. 6, the most eastern shaft. A mass was 
also found in the back part of 40, near the same shaft. In 
the 60, west of No. 3, drifting has been made a little over 
a hundred feet, disclosing excellent ground. Connection 
has also been made between Nos. 2 and 3, distant some 
two hundred and thirty feet, showing several important 
masses. 

'* This is a rapid summary of the new things to be seen 
under ground at the Minnesota mines. With a thousand 
tons of copper in sight, a considerable part of which is 
thrown down, with their abundant openings and ample 
machinery, what do you think, reader, will be the product 
of the Minnesota mines for the coming year ? We ojyine 
that the most sanguine expectations hitherto formed will 
be exceeded." 

The gross product of the Minnesota mine for the past 
year has been within a fraction of 1860 tons of mineral.' 
The market value of this product, including nearly $1000 
worth of silver, was about $t02,000, and the entire expen- 
ditures of the year, in round numbers, $337,000, leaving a 
balance of $345,000 net earnings. 

This dividend^ will make the aggregate sum of six hun- 
dred and eighty thousand dollars (being more than ten 
times the whole amount of capital paid in), divided among 

1 From the Report for the year 1856. 

2 A dividend of $300,000, or 30 per cent, on the capital stock, is 
here alluded to. 

18 



206 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

the stockholders from the net earnings of this mine for the 
past five years, viz : 

For 1852, $10 on 3000 shares $30,000 

« 1853, 20 « « 60,000 

" 1854, 30 " " 90,000 

" 1855, 10 20,000 " 200,000 

" 1856, 15 " " 300,000 

$680,000 

a result v^'hich cannot but be considered highly satisfactory. 
The amount of copper raised from the mines of Lake 
Superior, during the year 1856, has not been ascertained, 
nor can it be exactly estimated. Many of the mines allow 
their stamp stuff to accumulate through the winter, un- 
dressed, being satisfied that the delay of preparation for 
market is more than compensated by the saving of fuel, and 
by devoting the same amount of labor to the opening and 
working of the mines in w^armer weather. The figures 
below are partially estimated, but are probably less than 
the truth. The following tables are digests, with slight 
corrections, from more elaborate ones prepared for the 
Lake Superior Miner, by Mr. Brunschweiler, of Onton- 
agon, and by Captain Paull, of the North American Mine, 
and from official statements. 



SHIPMENT OP ROUGH COPPER IN TONS, FOR 1856.. 
From Ontonagon. 

Mas8. Brl. and Stamp. TotaL 

Adventure 27 118 145 

Atzec 15 40i 65J 

Douglas Houghton J 8^ 9 

Evergreen 4J 15 lOJ 

Flint Steel River —.2 2 



Amount carried forward.... 47 184 230| 



Brl. and Stamp. 

184 

49 


Total. 

2301 

50 


2 


2 


3 

497 
60 


13 

i 
1858 
115 


22 


33 


45 


116 


58 


4i 
62 


108 


199i 


49 


60 


16 


22 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 20T 

Mass. 

Amount brought forward... 47 

Forest 1 

J. a. Grout — 

Mass 10 

Merchant — 

Minnesota 1361 

National 55 

Nebraska 11 

Norwich 71 

Ohio — 

Ohio Trap Rock — 

Peninsula — 

Ridge 4 

Rockland 9U 

Toltee 11 

Windsor 6 

Total 1608 1099 2767 



From Keweenaw Point, 

Mass, Brl. and Stamp. 

Central 53 

Cliff (Pittsburg and Boston), 1548 

Connecticut 22 

Copper Falls 154 

Fulton 2 

North American 328 

Northwestern 15 

Phoeaix 11 

Total 2128 

From Portage Lake. 

Mass, Brl. and Stamp. 

Isle Royale , 223 

Huron 22 

Pewabee 103 

Portage 101 

Quincy .■ 20 

Total 409 



208 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Total Shipments. 

1R56. 1855. 

From Ontonagon 2767 1984 

From Keweenaw Point 2128 2245 

From Portage Lake 462 3l5 

5357 4544 

Tons of Copper raised from the Minnesota, Cliff, and Rocldand Mines, 

in 1856. 

Minnesota. Cliff. Rockland. 

January 159 120 — 

February 153 127 26 

March 165 145 — 

April 159 150 — 

May 153 141 16 

June 152 140 20 

July 153 134 30 

August 155 154 33 

September 150 146 41 

October 154 146 32 

November 156 124 23 

December 150 120 24 

Total 1859 1647 245 

The following is a report of the capital, etc., of the two 
most profitable mining companies on Lake Superior. Each 
of these companies is now paying dividends at the rate 
of 30 per cent, per annum on their assumed capital. 

Annnal Report, Fehruary, 1857. 

Nnminal Total Highest 

LoiCafinn of Nominal p:»r value Number of pad in Capital siles 

oflBfe. capital. per share. shares. per share. paid in. per share 

Minnesota.. New York $1,000,000 $50 20.000 $:5-30 $66,000 $110 

Cliflf. Pittsburg 6,000 18-50 110,905 245 

The whole amount of copper shipped the past season, as 
given in the report of the Superintendent of the St. Mary's 
Falls Ship Canal, through which it all passed, is 10,452,000 
pounds, worth, at 25 cents, $2,613,000. 

The native copper of the Lake Superior mines may be 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 209 

considered to be chemically pure. It dissolves in pure 
nitric acid without leaving a trace of residuum ; it gives no 
precipitate when the nitric acid solution is heated with am- 
monia ; neither on the addition of chloro-hydric acid. It 
dissolves to a clear solution in concentrated sulphuric acid, 
when heated ; it contains no trace of arsenic or other vola- 
tile metal. This is the result of the examination of several 
specimens of copper from the Phoenix, Cliff, and Minnesota 
mines. A piece of copper from the last-named mine, sawn 
with care from a perfectly pure and solid mass, was found 
to have the specific gravity of 8 '838.* 

The great national value of the copper mines of Lake 
Superior will be seen by comparing their productions with 
that of others, in different parts of the world. The sub- 
joined table exhibits the foreign mines, together with the 
annual yield of metal : 

Tons. 

Sweden 1,000 

Russia 2,000 

Hungary 2,000 

Hartz Mountains 212 

East Germany 14.3 

Hesse 500 

Norway Y,200 

United Kingdom of Great Britain 14,463 

Mexico 200 

Lake Superior Mines, in 1856 6,000 

IRON ORES. 

The iron, no less than the copper region, of Lake Supe- 
rior, is one of the wonders of the world. The country 
has been explored sufficiently to enable us to form a rough 
estimate as to its capability of producing the most valuable 
metals used by man. Mr. Foster, the eminent U. S. 

1 Foster and Whitney's Report. 
18* 



210 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

Geologist, says: — "Without excepting even Missouri, 
there is no region of the workl where the specular ores of 
iron are developed in so great a degree of purity, and on 
a scale of such magnificence, as in the district of Lake 
Superior. They occur, not in veins, not in beds, but iu 
mountain masses, forming, in some instances, the crowning 
summits of the country." 

This region commences along the coast of the lake, with 
the metamorphic rocks, extending from the Chocolate to 
the Dead river, a distance of ten miles, following the shore, 
and sweeping away southerly and westerly across the 
branches of the Menomonee river, far into the State of 
Wisconsin. A surveyor, in his report of the ore along the 
Michigamig river, on the east boundary of township forty- 
six north, range thirty west, says : — " The river here forms 
a lake-like expansion, and is bounded on the northeast by 
a range of hills, which rise abruptly to the height of two 
hundred feet above the water. We explored this ridge, 
and found that it was composed, for the most part, of nearly 
pure specular oxide of iron. It shoots up in a perpen- 
dicular cliff, one hundred and thirteen feet in height, so 
pure that it is difficult to determine its mineral associations. 
We passed along the base of this cliff for more than a 
quarter of a mile, seeking for a gap, through which we 
might pass, and gain the summit. At length, by clam- 
bering from one point to another, we succeeded. Passing 
along the brow of the cliff forty feet, the mass was com- 
paratively pure ; then succeeded a bed of quartz, composed 
of grounded grains, with small specks of iron disseminated, 
and large, rounded masses of the same material inclosed, 
constituting a conglomerate. This bed was fifteen feet in 
thickness, and succeeded again by specular iron, exposed, 
in places, to the width of one hundred feet ; but the soil 
and trees prevented our determining its entire width. This 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 211 

one cliff contains iron sufficient to supply the world for 
ages ; yet we saw neither its length nor its width, but only 
an outline of the mass." 

On the line between sections ten and eleven there is an 
elongated knob of almost pure ore, rising to the height of 
fifty feet above the surrounding country. Further south, 
in the same sections, there is a mass of still greater magni- 
tude, though not of equal purity, on what is known as the 
Cleveland Company's location. It rises in an oblong knob 
to the height of one hundred and eighty feet above the sur- 
rounding country, and one thousand and thirty-nine feet 
above Lake Superior, being the culminating point on that 
meridian line between the two lakes. 

There are other localities of ore in this region, to which 
we need not refer. There is such an abundance of it to be 
obtained by working an open quarry, that it can never 
command a price much above the cost of the labor of quar- 
rying and transportation. 

'* This iron region is the most valuable and extensive in 
the world for the manufacture of the finer varieties of 
wrought iron and steel. When we consider the immense 
extent of the district, the mountain masses of the ore, its 
purity and adaptation to the manufacture of the most valu- 
able kinds of iron, and the immense forests which cover 
the surface, suitable for charcoal, this district may be pro- 
nounced unrivalled. The ore consists mainly of the spe- 
cular or peroxide of iron, an admixture of the fine-grained 
magnetic. In some instances, the whole ridge or knob 
appears to consist of one mass of pure ore — so pure that 
no selection is required ; but an unlimited quantity might 
be quarried or picked up in loose blocks around the slopes. 
In others, the ore is mixed with seams of quartz or jasper, 
which renders it less valuable, and requires some care for 
the selection. The iron, in such oases, presents a banded 



212 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

or contorted structure, or alternating seams of steel-gray 
and brilliant red. The appearance of a mountain cliff, 
thus made up, is extraordinary. The iron mountain of 
Missouri becomes insignificant compared with these im- 
mense deposits." 

In 1849, two samples of this iron, selected without care 
from among the products of the Jackson forge, were placed 
in the hands of Major Wade, of the Ordnance Department 
— whose oflBce it is to test the tenacity of the guns made 
for Government — for the purpose of experiment. The 
results obtained were as follows : 

Sample No. 1, 7,550 density, 89*582 lbs. pressure to square inch. 
" No. 2, 7,768 " 72-885 " " " 

In the second sample there was a slight flaw observed 
after it was parted, which would account for its inferior 
tenacity. These results give an unparalleled tenacity, and 
prove the high value of this iron. 

The following are the results of the numerous experi- 
ments of Professor Walter R. Johnson, on the tenacity of 
bar-iron in various parts of the world : 

strength in lbs. per square inch. 

Iron from Salisbury, Ct., by means of 40 trials 58*009 

•* Sweden, 4 " 58*184 

" Centre County, Pa., 15 " 58*400 

" Lancaster County, Pa., 2 " 58-661 

" Mclntyre, Essex Co., N. Y., 4 " 58*912 

" England (cable bolt, E. v.), 5 " 59*105 

" Prussia, 5 " 76*069 

To which we add the tenacity of the Carp River iron, 

Lake Superior, as determined by Major Wade 89*582 

The transactions in iron ore, for the past year, says the 
"Lake Superior Journal," though small in comparison 
with what can and will be done, exceed, by far, the antici- 
pations of those interested. The ore has been successfully 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 213 

introduced into market, where it sells readily at high prices. 
The shipments, for the year 1856, were, for the Cleveland 
Iron^ Milling Company, 6536 gross tons, making a total of 
10,036 tons mined; for the Sharon Iron Mining Company, 
4497 gross tons, and the same have now on the dock, ready 
for shipment, 2805 gross tons, making a total of 7352 tons ; 
the Eureka Iron Mining Company have shipped 2000 gross 
tons, and have some 600 more ready for shipment, giving 
them a total of 2600 tons mined. The whole amount 
shipped being 13,033 gross tons, and the total amount 
mined 20,538 gross tons, which, at $5 per ton, the lowest 
price quoted, would net $102,690. These shipments may 
look small, but it should be remembered that this is the 
first really active season, and it was the finishing of the ex- 
perimental work. 

When this is taken into consideration, with the fact that 
the trade has been established on a firm basis, it is highly 
gratifying. From the preparations now making by the 
companies already in operation, and by others who will 
shortly commence, it is estimated that the shipments for 
1857 will exceed in value $1,000,000. 

Although the facilities for shipping ore from Lake Supe- 
rior are unrivalled — the mines being from five to twenty 
miles only distant from the lake — yet, during part of the 
year, these mines, with the men who work them, and the 
villages and towns supported by them, are, for all practical 
business purposes and communication, locked up from the 
rest of the world ; they depend for their supplies entirely 
upon the East and South, and these supplies must be pro- 
vided by the shipping on the lake before navigation closes 
in the autumn. 

Fortunately for the Lake Superior country, the General 
Government, as we have before mentioned, granted a large 
body of these valuable mineral lands to the States of 



214 CHARACTER OF THE SOIL. 

Michigan and Wisconsin, to bnild railroads through them. 
As soon as these contemplated commnnications are opened, 
there will be but few days in the year in which conveyance 
to and from the mines cannot be had with every market 
connected with the entire line of iron road from the lake to 
the Gulf of Mexico. We are convinced that the construc- 
tion of these railroads would cause many of the copper 
mines (which are at present suspended) to be worked at a 
profit, by reason of the facilities it would give for reducing 
the cost of labor and supplies, and would obviate the 
necessity now existing for the heavy outlay of capital re- 
quired to procure all the necessary means one year in 
advance. 

CHARACTER OF THE SOIL. 

It must not be supposed that the soil of the Lake Supe- 
rior country is unfit for cultivation ; on the contrary, it 
is preferable to that of New England. The materials, 
in some of the eastern parts of the district, consists of fine 
sand, forming the "pine plains''' south of the "Pictured 
Rocks." The coarse drift which abounds on the southern 
slope affords a warm dry soil, which will require repeated 
dressings to make it productive, after the vegetable mould 
shall have been exhausted. The region where it prevails 
is not low and marshy, but is thrown into gentle undula- 
tions, like the rolling prairies of Illinois. Such is the 
character of the lower valley of the Menomonee. ' 

The northern part of Wisconsin, bordering on the lake, 
ranks first in agricultural capacity. Dr. Owen ^ says : — 
" The red clay and marl lands, occupying the high plains 
skirting Lake Superior, are characterized particularly by 
the predominance of oxide of iron, from which they derive 
their color, and which amounts to four and a half per cent.,. 

1 J. W. Foster's Report. 2 Geological Report. 



CHARACTER OF THE SOIL, 215 

or nearly one half of the weight of the saline matter ; it is 
always a retentive soil, from the abundance of argillaceous 
earth which enters into its composition. And it may be 
compared, in quality, to the red lands of Maryland and 
Yirginia, bordering on the Potomac river, in Montgomery 
and Loudon counties, which produce wheat crops that can 
scarcely be excelled." 

The same author remarks, in relation to the soil of Made- 
line island, which lies opposite La Pointe county, Wis- 
consin : — '' That portion of the soil of this island fit for 
cultivation, produces potatoes, and all manner of garden 
vegetables and roots in great luxuriance. In the flat, wet 
parts, both the soil and the climate are favorable to grass, 
and the crop is certain and stout. Oats do well ; on good 
soil I have no doubt that wheat would be a good and sure 
crop, if well cultivated." 

The editor of the Chicago Democratic Press, who visited 
a vegetable garden on this island in July, 1856, says : — 
"It is by far the best and most productive one that we 
have seen this season. True, the fruits ripen later than 
they do with us, but they are fine and perfect." The spa- 
cious garden of Mr. Austrian, to which he allude's, is one 
of the most attractive spots on the island. Luxuriant 
vegetables of all kinds were raised last summer ; also cher- 
ries, apples, and grapes. The latter part of September, 
1856, Mr. A. sent the following productions, raised in his 
garden, to the editors of the Superior Chronicle, viz : One 
ruta baga turnip, weighing seven pounds, a beautiful ear 
of Genesee flint corn, several bunches of ripe tomatoes, 
citrons, squashes, carrots, beets, some marrow-fat peas, 
three varieties of apples, and a bunch of flowers. The 
author himself measured some stalks of rye, raised on a 
claim near the City of Superior, which, although not fully 
ripe, were five feet six inches in height, and he is confident, 



216 FISHERIES. 

that had some of the vegetables raised in the same place 
been exhibited at the United States Agricultural Fair, 
they would without difficulty have secured the fir at prize. 

FISHERIES OP LAKE SUPERIOR. 

The products of the fisheries of Lake Superior are of 
great importance to the inhabitants and States which lie on 
its borders. It abounds with the most delicious fresh water 
fish known. The flavor of its trout, white fish, and others, 
is much superior to that of the other lakes, and they com- 
mand a higher price in market. " One species," says Mr. 
Andrews, " the sisl-awit.,^ has only to be known in the New 
York and Eastern markets, in order to supersede all varie- 
ties of sea fish, for unquestionably none approach it in suc- 
culence and flavor." This fish is preferred by the Indians 
on account of its fatness. They are readily caught by the 
hook, but the usual method is by means of gill nets, set a 
yard or two from the bottom, in water of about two hun- 
dred feet in depth ; the lower edge of the net is then an- 
chored by weights attached to cords, while the upper edge 
is sustained by means of floats. The siskawU weighs 
from five to twenty pounds. 

The white fish^ are preferred to all others by the white 
inhabitants and travellers. There are two kinds of lake 
trout,^ each weighing from twelve to fifty pounds. The 
sturgeon are quite remarkable, not only in size, but in 
flavor ; pickerel, pike, carp, black fish, and herring, are 
also abundant. Large quantities of these fish are packed 
annually at Siskawit Bay, Isle Royale, at La Pointe, and 
many other places along the northern and southern shores, 
for the Eastern and Western markets. This branch of 
commerce is increasing very fast, in consequence of the 

1 Pereopsis Guttatus. ^ Coregonus Albus. ^ galmo Amethystus. 



COMMERCE. 21t 

opening of the Sault Canal, and rapid increase of settle- 
ment along its coast. The waters of Lake Superior are 
teeming with life, and from the south shore alone 50,000 
barrels might be yearly sent to market. 

COMMERCE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 

It is very difiBcult to procure correct information of the 
commerce of this lake, owing to the fact that it has only 
recently been opened to direct navigation with the other 
lakes, and from the extreme inaccuracy and looseness of the 
returns reported. The business of the Lake Superior 
country, for 1851, is estimated by Mr. Andrews as follows, 
for the articles which crossed the portage at the Sault Ste. 
Marie : 

Imports, 100,000 barrels bulk; in which are included 
2000 bundles pressed hay, 20,000 bushels of oats, and 
other kinds of grain, provisions, dry goods, groceries, 
general supplies, and five mining engines ; forming an 
aggregate estimated value of $1,000,000. 

The exports passing around the rapids, for the same 
season, are as follows ; 

1800 tons of copper, at $350 , $630,000 

500 tons of iron blooms, at $50 25,000 

4000 barrels of fish, at $5 20 000 

The imports are about 40,000 barrels bulk in excess of 
the imports of 1850. 

The receipts for tolls on the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, for 
the season of 1856, amounted to $11,950-44. 

COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE OF FREIGHT. 
Up Freight. 

1855. 1856. Total. 

Barrels bulk 76,468 119,259 195,727 

Tons 4,373 11,568 15,941 

19 



218 COMMERCE. 

Down Freight. 

1855. 1856. Total. 

Copper, in tons 3,196i 6,726i 8,923 

Iron blooms, in tons .- 1,040 781 1,821 

Iron ore 1,447 11,597 13,044 

Estimated value of up freight $2,5fl0,000 

« " down freight 2,875,000 

Total $5,375,000 

Lumber to the extent of 395,295 feet passed through 
the canal. The importation of this article will doubtless 
entirely cease in a few years, and the exportation of it 
form, eventually, a conspicuous item in the trade of Lake 
Superior, as already a large number of saw-mills, of suffi- 
cient capacity to supply all demands, are at work at the 
head of the lake. 

At present, there are about twelve propellers and st-eam 
vessels engaged in the commerce of this " mighty inland 
sea." It requires a voyage of about four days, including 
numerous stoppages, to convey passengers and freight from 
Chicago to the City of Superior, at the head of the lake, 
and the same time from Cleveland. The North Star, a 
favorite boat, made the trip in June, 185Y, from Detroit, 
in three days. On their return voyage they take in cop- 
per, in masses and barrels, iron ores and bars, fish, ship's 
knees, &c.' A number of sailing vessels are also engaged 
m this commerce. 

The average close of navigation at the head of Lake 
Superior, for the past two years, has been about the 1st of 
December,^ and the average opening about the middle of 

1 Captain Church, of the St. Mary's river, exported, in 1850, ten 
tons of raspberry jam. 

2 In 1855, the schooner Algonquin left the port of Superior, on 
her return voyage, the 17th of December. 



SATJLT STE. MARIE CANAL. 219 

April. From these facts it will be observed that the lake 
is susceptible of navigation for nearly eight months in the 
year, and about two weeks longer than the Upper Mis- 
sissippi. 

SAULT STE. MARIE CANAL. 

The outlet of Lake Superior is through the St. Mary's 
river, which is sixty miles in length, connecting it with 
Lake Huron. At some places it spreads out into little 
lakes ; at others, rushes through narrow rapids, or winds 
around beautiful islands. Its entire length is navigable as 
far as the falls — the "Sault" of the river having a descent 
of twenty-two feet within three-fourths of a mile. Until 
the year 1855, the only inlet for merchandise, or outlet for 
the produce of this vavSt lake, and the wide regions de- 
pendent upon it, was in the portage around the " Sault," 
across which every article had to be transported, at prodi- 
gious labor and expense. In 1851, the fleet of the lake 
consisted of two steamers, four propellers, and a consi- 
derable number of smaller craft, all of which had been 
dragged overland, by man and horse, across the isthmus. 
These vessels were constantly employed carrying up sup- 
plies, and bringing back returns of ore and metal, and yet, 
under all these disadvantages and drawbacks, the traffic 
was profitable and progressive. 

After continued efforts had been made, for many years, 
to induce the General Government to construct a ship canal 
around these rapids. Congress, in 1852, offered to the State 
of Michigan *750,000 acres of land to aid in completing it, 
and the Legislature of that State contracted to give these 
lands, free of taxation, for five years, to Erastus Corning, 
and others, in consideration that the proposed canal should 
be in navigable order by the 19th of May, 1855. The 
work was finished at the appointed time, and is superior to 



220 SAULT STE. MARIE CANAL. 

anything of its kind on this continent. Its locks are the 
largest in the world. The combined length of the two 
sides and wings of the two locks together is nearly one- 
third of a mile, all of solid masonry, twenty-five feet high, 
ten feet thick at the base, with bnttresses six feet in width 
at the distance of every twelve feet, all faced with cut white 
limestone, equal to the best of this State. The gates are 
each forty feet wide. The canal is one hundred feet wide 
at the top of the water, and one hundred and fifteen at the 
top of its banks, containing a depth of water of twelve 
feet, and is principally excavated through rock. This ship 
canal is a magnificent piece of workmanship, and has 
opened to the lower lakes a navigation of fully a thousand 
miles. Mr. Andrews forcibly remarks : — " Our shipping 
will have an uninterrupted sweep over waters which 
cb^ain more than three hundred thousand square miles of 
a region abounding in mineral and agricultural re- 
sources. They may he icater-horne nearly half way 
across the continent. The inexhaustible elements of wealth 
on the shores of Lake Superior will then become avail- 
able." Again he says : — ** So soon as the canal above- 
mentioned shall be completed, the summer tour of tra,i'el- 
lers will he extended to a cruise ai^ound Lake Superior, 
and from La Pointe many ivill cross over to the Falls of 
St. Anthony, on the Mississippi river. The importance 
of this enterprise can hardly be over-estimated, and its 
consequence will be the vast facilitation and increase of the 
commerce of Lake Superior, and the incalculable enhance- 
ment of the value of the public lands, while a tide of emi- 
gration may be expected from Norw^ay, Sweden, and the 
north of Europe, as well as from the New England States, 
pouring into the northwestern wilderness, subduing the 
forests, and extending far and wide the area of civilization. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 221 

The time will doubtless come when a canal or railway will 
be made to the Falls of St. Anthony." 

It affords the author great pleasure to be able to bear 
bis testimony to the accomplishment of these predictions 
of Mr. Andrews in his interesting report to Government. 
The summer tour which he mentions, from Lake Superior 
to the Mississippi river, has already been made by great 
numbers, not only from La Pointe, but also from the City 
of Superior. During the past winter, a line of sleighs 
conveyed passengers tri-weekly between the latter place and 
St. Paul. Many Norwegian and other emigrants have 
already arrived, and it is expected that at least ten thou- 
sand more will reach the Lake Superior country this year. 

A railroad is now under construction from the City of 
Superior to St. Paul, and the contractors are to have it 
completed by July, 1859. The feasibility of constructing 
a canal from the lake to the Mississippi river, is demon- 
strated by the fact that the first steam propeller, the Man- 
hattan, in 1850 passed up the St. Louis river, at the head 
of the lake, as far as Pond du Lac village. The river, at 
the time, was not above its ordinary stage, and at the 
lowest part sounded there was over six feet water in the 
channel. "This brings the steam navigation on Lake 
Superior within thirty-five miles of the Mississippi, at the 
mouth of Sandy Lake river."' We believe the distance is 
but six miles from the St. Louis to the Savanna river, 
which flows into Sandy Lake. This route is one of the 
most celebrated in the northwest, from the first discovery 
of the lake to the present time. How surprised would 
either Mr. Andrews, Dr. Owen, or General Cass be, were 
they to visit again these regions. On the shores of the Bay 
of Superior stands the youngest and largest city of the 
lake ; steamboats arrive at its piers tri-weekly, and connect 

1 Owen's Geological Report. 
19* 



222 GENERAL REMARKS. 

there with smaller steamers for the new towns on the St. 
Louis river, viz : Middletou, Du Luth, Oneota, Wahba- 
gon, and Fond du Lac, besides other boats, touching at 
perhaps a dozen or more towns along the north shore of 
the lake.' The shrill whistle of the "iron horse" is heard 
where, at the date of the publication of Dr. Owen's Sur- 
vey, in 1852, was a dense wilderness. 

Mr. Andrews again remarks: — ''Possibly we may see 
the trade of Hudson'' s Bay flowing into the United States, 
through Lake Superior and our other great lakes and 
rivers. For that great hay is hut fifteen days^ canoe 
voyage from' Lake Superior, and the portages ai^e few 
and not long, so that the British Hudson's Bay Fur Com- 
pany carry on constant communication with their factories 
upon the bay from their posts upon Lake Superior; and 
their agents at the British posts in Oregon travel from their 
stations on the borders of the Pacific Ocean, by way of 
Hudson's Bay and Lake Superior, on their route to Great 
Britain." The little steamer James Carson arrived at 
the City of Superior, June Qth, 1 857, /rom Fond du Lac, 
ivilh forty passengers, and about six thousand dolLx^rs' 

WORTH OF FURS. 

We cannot agree with several of the Chicago journals, 
who, on account of the " grant of lands" to Minnesota, to 
aid in the construction of a railroad from St. Paul to Pem- 
bina, infer that, when this is accomplished, "the question 
of the trade of the Hudson's Bay Territory will be forever 
settled, and Chicago will be the depot for the furs of that 
region." It has always been an acknoioledged fact, that 
transjiortation by the water is far cheaper than by land, 
and why furs and merchandise should be carried such 
an immense distance over railroads to and from Chicago 
we do not understand, especially when they can be sent 
1 See steamboat advertisements. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 223 

from ilie City of Superior to all parts of the luorld on 
steamboats, without reshipment, each city being at the head 
of a great lake, and possessing equal advantages of direct 
communication ivith the Atlantic Ocean. 

A glance at the map of the United States is all that is 
necessary to satisfy any reflecting mind of the important 
position occupied by Lake Superior, and the influence it 
is soon destined to exercise on the commercial affairs of 
this continent. In a few years, when the contemplated 
railroads are completed, it will become the principal avenue 
of intercourse between the Eastern and Northwestern por- 
tions of our extended country. In addition to its vast 
mineral and lumber resources, and extensive fisheries, the 
present unexampled flood of immigration to its shores 
should not be overlooked. Now, all this teeming popula- 
tion must have access to Eastern markets, and the greater 
the facilities afforded to them the greater will be their 
increase, prosperity, and commerce. 

Should anything herein contained appear exaggerated, 
let it be remembered, that for the last ten years the wildest, 
the boldest anticipations respecting the Northwest have 
been more than realized ; had it been predicted that these 
almost boundless wilds should at this day be the dwelling- 
place of thousands of freemen, that towns vieing in popu- 
lation and wealth with many on the Atlantic border, should 
in that period have arisen, and that Lake Superior shx)uj£l 
be traversed weekly by lines of steamboats, it would have 
been deemed beyond measure extravagant ; yet all this is 
sober reality, and at this moment the onward march of this 
great region in populaticTn, wealth, and resources, is more 
rapid than at any former period. 



CHAPTER III. 

CITY OF SUPERIOR — ITS SITUATION — HARBOR — ADVANTAGES 
— RAILROADS — RISE AND HISTORY PROGRESS — AGRI- 
CULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE NEMADJI AND ST. LOUIS 
RIVERS. 

The City of Superior, situated on the Bay of Superior 
and Nemadji river, at the head of Lake Superior, on an 
elevation of thirty-four feet, possesses a better site, a better 
harbor, and greater natural advantages for a commercial 
city, than any other point in the Northwest. Its harbor is 
the largest on the lake, and is admirably sheltered from 
storms by two points of land projecting out from the States 
of Wisconsin and Minnesota, forming a bay of over six 
miles in length by one in width, large enough to accommo- 
date the shipping of the entire chain of lakes. The en- 
trance from the lake is about half a mile wide, with suffi- 
cient depth of w^ater for any vessel which can pass through 
the ship canal at the Sault Ste. Marie. Vessels can enter 
into this magnificent land-locked harbor in all w^inds, and 
are secure from the heaviest storm which could arise in the 
winter season. The Government is now constructing a 
lighthouse on Minnesota Point, at the entrance of this 
bay. 

Besides these advantages-, the City of Superior is the 
"naost western point accessible to ocean vessels in North 
America, and it enjoys uninterrupted w^ater communication 
with the Atlantic Ocean, via the British American canals 

(224) 



,,1 4iViWlllllii 







CITY OF SUPERIOR. 225 

and the St. Lawrence river. Its situation corresponds ex- 
actly with that of Chicago, it being the cliicf port, and at 
the head of navigation of a great hike, and the point where 
the raih'oads from the interior of the State will terminate. 

As Wisconsin and the States and Territories lying north 
and west of it advance, and the commerce of Lake Snpe- 
rior increases, as that of Lake Michigan has done, there is 
no reason why Superior may not become a second Chicago. 

Its position at the furthest extremity of Lake Superior, 
commanding the country lying north and west of the lake, 
and east of the Rocky Mountains, shows that Nature has 
marked this spot for the great commercial city of this 
mighty inland sea. 

Nor is there any apparent limit to its increase. The 
great States and cities which are growing up in the North- 
w^est, will find their cheapest outlet to the seaboard by the 
channel of the lakes. Peopled, as they are now being, 
with a rapidity w^hich has no parallel, these new States are 
fast rivalling in wealth and importance the older communi- 
ties of the Eastern frontier, and are drawing from them, 
rapidly and steadily, the capital and vitality which were 
once all their own. Kailroads are in process of construc- 
tion to the Mississippi river, and to other points beyond, 
which will soon command the produce and commerce of the 
interior. 

The experiment of an uninterrupted navigation from the 
Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean was proved by the successful 
voyage of the schooner Dean Richmond, in the SjJring of 
1856, /rom Chicago to Liverpool, and the arrival of the 
British schooner Madeira Pet, the lith of July, 1857, 
with a cargo of merchandise from Liverpool, at Chicago. 
These voyages are destined to work an entire revolution in 
the internal traffic of the Western States, and will lead to 
an extended and increasing intercourse with Europe. The 



226 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

application of steam will overcome the delays of navigation, 
and the path opened by the "Dean Richmond" and the 
" Madeira Pet" will be thronged with the flags of every 
nation. What is true of Chicago is true of the City of 
Superior. What is possible by the St. Lawrence river and 
canals is equally possible with the Sault Ste. Marie. The 
unrivalled chain of inland navigation to the heart of this 
continent does not end with Chicago. It is complete to 
the City of Superior. 

What may be said in favor of the lakes as an outlet 
from the great West, may, for all purposes of business and 
settlement, be urged for them as an inlet from the ocean. 
The productions of the Northwest are now shipped, in the 
very centre of America, for the remotest parts of Europe, 
and the best class of emigrants — always an invaluable cargo 
— embark almost at their own doors, and are conveyed to 
the very places in which they desire to settle. An advan- 
tage of the highest importance, as it saves them from the 
inconveniences, delays, and impositions, which now too 
often attend their journey westward. In a short time, 
emigrants can purchase tickets for Wisconsin in the very 
heart of Europe, which will take them over two thousand 
miles into the interior of America, ivithout transhipment, 
and with no greater inconvenience than might attend their 
journey from their homes to the ports of departure.^ 

We will give the distances from Liverpool to Quebec, 
to prove that the sailing distance between them is — if the 
Straits of Belle Isle be followed, 400 miles, and if the 
southern route be taken, some 200 miles — shorter than 
between Liverpool and New York. 

1 At present, large numbers of emigrants are daily reaching Wis- 
consin through Canada. On arrival at Quebec, they take passage on 
Bteamboats for different ports on Lakes INIichigan and Superior. 



ADVANTAGES. 22*1 

The distances are as follows : 

Miles. 
From Quebec to Liverpool, via north of Ireland and Straits 

of Belle Isle 2680 

From Quebec to Galway, via north of Ireland and Straits 

of Belle Isle 1800 

From New York to Galway 2815 

" « Liverpool 3073 

Another advantage of this route is, that a third of the 
distance to Quebec is within the Gulf and River St. Law- 
rence, where a steamer will sail faster, being less impeded 
there than by the heavy swells of the Atlantic. 

Miles. 
The distance from Quebec, via daily steamers, to Montreal, is... 180 

" " Montreal to Cleveland, daily steamers, is 661 

" " Cleveland to City of Superior, " is 1091 

Total 1932 

To appreciate the magnitude of the canals and their 
locks on the St. Lawrence, it is necessary to give a de- 
scription of some of the most important of them. The 
Welland Canal is a very important work, connecting Lakes 
Ontario and Erie. Its locks are 150 feet in length of 
chamber, by a width of 26 J feet, its dimensions being well 
suited for the class of vessels best adapted to the Western 
lakes, of which large numbers pass through it, as well of 
Canadian as American crafts. This canal is 28 miles in 
length, having about 30 cut-stone locks, and is lighted with 
gas for the night operations ; the brilliant burners marking 
its course for a long distance. Notwithstanding these pre- 
cautions, it is with difficulty that the immense trade be- 
tween the upper and lower lakes can be accommodated. 
It surmounts an elevation between Lakes Ontario and Erie 
of 330 feet, while the elevation from tide water to Lake 
Ontario being over 200 feet, is overcome by the St. Law- 



228 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

rence canals, seven in number, of various lengths, from 12. 
miles to one mile (but in the aggregate only 41 miles of 
canal), having locks 200 feet in length between the gates, 
and 45 feet in width, with an excavated trunk from 100 to 
140 feet wide on the water surface, and a depth of ten feet 
of water. These canals are chiefly used for ascending the 
stream, as large steamers, drawing seven feet water, with 
passengers and mails, leave Kingston, at the foot of Lake 
Ontario, in the morning, and without passing through a 
single lock, reach the wharf at Montreal the same day 
before dark. 

In the year 1853, there passed through the Welland 
Canal 2743 British sailing vessels and 917 steamers, and 
2705 American sailing vessels and 349 steamers. Through 
the St. Lawrence canals there passed, in the same year, 
5457 British sailing vessels and 2173 steamers, and 123 
American sailing vessels and 51 steamers. The total num- 
ber of vessels, of all classes, passing through the canals of 
Canada that year, was 20,406, with a tonnage of 2,138,654 
tons. 

On the whole, it may be safely asserted that no country 
in the world is possessed of more important and extensive 
canals than is Canada. They are now destined to be the 
medium of communication for large numbers of vessels 
which the direct ocean trade of the great West will employ. 

Nor is this all. This vast and uninterrupted water com- 
munication from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the 
extremity of Lake Superior, will be the basis of the whole 
system of Western railroads. A Pacific Railroad over 
the northern route to Puget's Sound, with a termination 
at the City of Superior, is the necessary supplement of the 
navigation we have described. 

The construction of a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is 
attracting a large share of the attention of the people of 



RAILROADS. 229 

the United States, and that a road, upon some such route, 
will be constructed, by aid derived from the General 
Government, appears to be the general opinion. It is con- 
ceded that the northern route, as surveyed by Governor 
Stevens, presents the greatest advantages, and the fewest 
obstacles, and we feel conj&dent it will be adopted. 

When the St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad is com- 
pleted, which will be in 1859, connecting the City of Supe- 
rior with St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Chicago, an astonishing 
revolution will be made in the transhipment of freight to 
the Northwest. As it is a settled fact that transportation 
is impelled by an irresistible impulse into the cheapest and 
most direct channels of communication, the following state- 
ments and tables of distances will prove that the lake route, 
yia the City of Superior, is not only the nearest, but by 
far the cheapest means of shipping freight to the North- 
west, and a saving in time of from ten days to two weeks. 
Let us take New York as a starting-point from the sea- 
board, and St. Paul, at the head of navigation of the Mis- 
sissippi, as the terminus. The distances between these 
places is as follows : 

Miles. 

From New York to Chicago, by canal via Albany and Buf- 
falo, and by steamboat via Detroit 1551 

From Chicago, by railroad via Dunleith, and via steamboat 
to St. Paul 568 

Total 2119 

From New York to Buffalo, via canal 508 

From Buffalo to City of Superior, via propellers 1241 

From City of Superior, via railroad, to St. Paul 140 

Total 1889 

showing a difference of 230 miles, and one transhipment 
less, in favor of the new route. 
20 



230 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

The usnal route for freight from Philadelphia to St. 
Pan], is by railroad to Pittsburg, thence by steamboats 
do^Yu the Ohio and up the Mississippi, occupying about 
cue month ; the distance is 2266 miles. 

Miles. 

The new route to St. Paul, via City of Superior, is by rail- 
road to Cleveland, occupying about 2 days, a distance of 489 

From Cleveland to Superior, via propellers, occupying 4 
days 1091 

From City of Superior to St. Paul, via railroad 140 

Total 1720 

showing a difference in favor of City of Superior of 546 
miles, and a saving of at least two weeks in time. 

Another important fact, which must not be overlooked, 
is, that the vast mineral products of Lake Superior may 
be transported via this railroad and the Mississippi river, 
cheaper than by any other means of communication. These 
subjects are capable of much additional amplification, and 
many more important statements might be added, but these 
facts and figures will serve to convince every one of the 
advantages of the lake route. 

The Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac Railroad 
Company, who are now surveying their road from Milwau- 
kee to Lake Superior, will doubtless extend it (as their 
charter provides) to the City of Superior. The Milwaukee 
and Horicon Railroad will terminate at this point, and their 
engineers are at present surveying the route. The Mil- 
waukee and Superior Railroad, a new company, chartered 
in March, 1856, also terminates at the City of Superior. 
Either of these routes, ivhen completed, ivill reduce the 
time between New York and the head of this great lake 
to about three days'' travel! 

Probably one of the greatest sources of future prosperity 
of the city of Superior, will be derived from the thousands 



RAILROADS. 231 

of visitors who will fill her hotels to overflowing, and leave 
immense sums of money among her merchants. We assert 
that, when the railroad connecting this city with the Mis- 
sissippi is ill travelling order, a great majority of the 
visitors who daily ascend that river to St. Paul (and I 
have known of from YOO to 1000 arrivals there in one day, 
in the height of the travelling season), will cross over to 
Superior and return homewards by the lakes, in preference 
to returning the same route. This is no idle supj)osition ; 
already hundreds have arrived in Superior, by the Point 
Douglas and Lake Superior Military Road. 

The wealthy Southerner, on his usual summer tour to 
the North, m^II prefer embarking on the " floating palaces 
of the mighty Father of Waters" for St. Paul, thence by 
railroad to City of Superior, and re-embarking there on 
splendid lake steamboats, will coast along the shores of 
the Mediterranean of North America, through the Sault 
Ste. Marie, either to Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago, or 
connect at Mackinaw with the " Collingwood route" for 
Canada, or Niagara, as his fancy may dictate. At present, 
there are three boats on the Superior line from Cliicago, 
and six from Cleveland ; both lines connecting with the 
" Collingwood route" at Mackinaw. 

To the traveller from the East, who prefers good fare 
and fine scenery to shutting himself up at a watering place, 
the northern route presents unequalled attractions. From 
Cleveland and Detroit splendid lake steamboats will convey 
him, in four days, to the City of Superior; then, in a few 
hours, he will reach St. Paul by the railroad ; after view- 
ing that cily, and the Falls of St. Anthony, he has choice 
of routes in returning homeward. For myself, I prefer the 
elegant accommodations and fare of the Mississippi boats, 
and its magnificent scenery, to travelling over the railroads. 
This route, up the lakes and down the Mississippi, is the 



232 CITY OP SUPERIOR. 

finest in this country; and when it is considered that, in 
length, it is equal to crossing the Atlantic, we may well be 
amazed at the cheapness of travel, and variety of scenery 
it presents. Travellers on tours of pleasure from the East- 
ern cities, on their way to tlie Falls of St. Anthony, will 
not willingly undergo the fatigues and annoyances of the 
raih'oad route to the Mississippi, when the tour of the 
lakes presents such attractions. 

Thus the City of Superior occupies the most prominent 
position in the Northwest, at the head of navigation, and 
we may also add, it forms the gate of communication be- 
tween the Eastern and Western travel, of over two thou- 
sand miles of uninterrupted lake and river navigation to 
the Atlantic, and nearly the same distance to the Gulf of 
Mexico. The productions of the Northwest will be shipped 
fi'oni her piers direct to New York and European ports ; 
emigrants will arrive direct from Euro})e for the West, with 
passengers and freight from Eastern cities ; the productions 
of Lake Superior will be collected in her warehouses for 
shipment to the Western and Southern States, the Gulf of 
Mexico, and the shores of the Pacific Ocean. A city with 
such a situation, surrounded by so magnificent a country, 
cannot but have a great and glorious destity. 

RISE AND HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SUPERIOR. 

In the fall of 1853, Messrs. D. A.J. Baker, D. A. Rob- 
ertson, George E. Nettleton, R. R. Nelson, Benjamin 
Thompson, Edmund Rice, James Stinson, and Wm. H. 
Newton, left St. Paul to lay out a town at the west end of 
Lake Superior. On arrival, each one erected a log cabin 
and made a claim. In the spring of 1854, they organized 
themselves into a company, under the name of " Proprie 
tors of Superior," with the following additional members, 
viz : Messrs. W. W._ Corcoran, of Washington City, D. C. ; 



EARLY HISTORY. 233 

R. J, Walker, of New York ; Geo. W. Cass, of Penna. ; 
and Horace S. Walbridge, of Ohio. Wm. H. Newton, 
Esq., was ai)))ointed Engineer and Agent for the "Pro- 
prietors of Superior," and, assisted by Thomas Chirk, 
Esq., the necessary surveys were made, and on the 6th of 
September, 1854, the plat of the town of Superior was 
duly recorded. 

This plat contained thirty-three streets, eighty feet wide, 
running parallel with the bay, and twenty-four avenues, one 
hundred feet wide, running from the bay. The former are 
named numerically, and the latter after the proprietors, 
early settlers, and other persons. The lots are all the 
same size, and regularly numbered — the odd on the right, 
and the even on the left side. Each house takes the num- 
ber of the lot upon which it is erected. Twenty lots were 
donated by the proprietors for churches, thirty-two for 
schools, half a block for county buildings, two blocks for a 
public park, and two blocks for a cemetery.' In the fall 
of 1855, that portion, of the town beyond the Nemadji 
river, fronting on the Bay of Allouez,^ and known as East 
Superior, was laid out and recorded. Six blocks were 
donated for public squares, lots for churches and school- 
houses, and over thirty acres, with two water fronts, for 
railroad depots. Also an avenue, three hundred feet wide, 
running from thence in a southern direction to the town 
line, through which railroads are to approach the harbor. 
A portion of these lands has been appropriated by the St. 
Croix and Lake Superior Railroad Company. But little 
building was done until the spring of 1855 ; previous to 
that date, a large-sized hotel — the Superior House — and 
Quebec pier were commenced, but were not completed 
until the following summer. 

1 Now occupied by the Nemadji Cemetery. 

' Formed by the waters of the Nemadji river and Bay of Supei'ior. 
20* 



234 CITY or SUPERIOR. 

We wc'll remember our astonishment on first landing 
from the steamboat Lady Elgin, June 30th, 1856, at the 
foot of this pier ; walking up Second street, we were 
greeted by the busy sounds of workmen on all sides — some 
felling trees and grubbing stumps, others at work on the 
bridges over the ravines at Nettleton and St. John's Ave- 
nues, besides many constructing houses. Upon the whole, 
it presented the busiest scene we had witnessed since 
leaving Chicago. The street in front of the Superior 
House was covered by the timbers for the new addition to 
its Second street front ; we had the pleasure of assisting in 
the raising of the frame a few days after. Above it, stores 
were built as far as Carlton Avenue ; among them were 
those of Messrs. Paul, Orrin Rice, and Dr. Neill ; beyond 
these the few straggling houses of Superior City were to be 
seen, and its large and commodious pier. The Barstow 
block, opposite the Superior House, was occupied by J. 
M. Newton's hardware, and Geo. F. Holcomb's grocery 
store ; the Recorder of Deeds, and Wm. H. Newton, 
Agent and Attorney for the " Proprietors," occupied the 
second floor, HoUingshead Avenue was opened about 
half a mile from the bay ; the only houses erected upon it 
were Mr. Double's, and several small ones, near Sixth 
street. Below this avenue, on Second street, was the 
Stockton House, Messrs. Bright & Hayes' law office, Mr. 
Moore's, the Young America House, the Episcopal 
church, Wm. H. Newton's residence, and many other 
houses. There were also several on the banks of the Ne- 
madji river ; in the little log school-house, at the corner of 
Fourth street and Becker Avenue, quite a large number of 
children were daily instructed by a young lady ; this house 
was occupied alternately, on the Sabbath, by the Rev. 
Messrs. J. M. Barnett, of the 0. S., Wm. A. McCorkle, 
of the N. S. Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. James 



EARLY HISTORY. 235 

Peet, of the Methodist Church, Sixth street was partially 
opened, and the contractors were grading it. 

Four small saw-mills were in operation, and the total 
cumber of buildings, of all descriptions, was about one 
hundred and ninety. Planks were laid along Second 
street to Nemadji river, for the purpose of a sidewalk, and 

our usual stroll, on those beautiful evenings in summer ■ 

at which time the twilight, in this latitude, continues until 
9 o'clock — was along this sidewalk to the river bank, 
where the old forest trees 

"Bend with a calm and quiet shadow down 
Upon the beauty of that silent water." 

In our frequent walks we noted the rapid improvement of 
the place; houses seemed to grow up almost daily. Du- 
ring our stay they averaged four per week. We were 
offered building lots on Second street, at from $300 to 
$500 apiece, on Sixth street from $150 to $250, on Eighth 
street at $100, and corner lots on the Nemadji and Second 
street at $350. When the news arrived, several months 
later, that the Legislature of Wisconsin had passed the 
Railroad bill, giving the lands near Superior, donated by 
Government, to the St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad, 
and that this Company was then engaged in purchasino- 
and forwarding supplies to Superior, to commence opera- 
tions before winter set in, property went up at an unpre- 
cedented rate ; quarter shares, which had been offered in 
July at $9000, were then scarce at $15,000, and Second 
street lots could not be had at any price. It may be pro- 
ber to state here, that the City of Superior consists of 5000 
acres, divided into thirteen original shares ; after the town 
was laid out in 1854, several of these shares were sold at 
$1500 each, and their rise to the present time has been un- 
exampled. 



236 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

Opposite the town, on Minnesota Point, were several 
hous^, the pier of Mr. Stuntz, and a few Indian lodp^es ; 
tliese Indians belonged to the Chippewa tribe, and were 
chiefly engaged in fishing. At tlie head of the Bay of 
Superior, the town of Du Luth was partially laid out, and 
on the Xorth Shore (as it is called) scattered clearings 
showed that considerable portions of it had been taken up 
by pre-empters. The little steamboat James Carson made 
weekly trips to the Indian village of Fond du Lac, on St. 
Louis river, about twenty miles from Superior, and the 
yacht Comet made daily trips to Du Luth. 

On the 8th of August, the inhabitants were qnite sur- 
prised by the appearance of the U. S. Steamer Michigan, 
it being the first national vessel that ever buffeted the waves 
of Lake Superior. A meeting of the Masonic Association 
■was held on the 16th of this month, preparatory to the 
erection of a hall. A few days after, the Douglas County 
Jail was commenced. The largest cargo which had ever 
reached Superior was brought from Cleveland by the 
favorite propeller Manhattan, the following September, con- 
sisting of twenty-two hundred barrels of freight, the large 
and complete machinery for Mr. Johnson's steam saw-mill, 
beside many passengers. 

In November, 1856, the inhabitants of Superior gave 
their first vote, for President and Vice President. The 
result showed that the Democratic electoral ticket received 
a majority of 146, the total number of votes polled being 
194, a numher almost unexampled in the history of West- 
ern towns of hut two years'' growth. 

In common with other visitors, we w^ere delighted with 
the climate of Lake Superior. The atmosphere being 
very dry and bracing, and so clear that the shades and 
shadows of the ^'North^' or Minnesota shore of the lake 



EARLY HISTORY. 237 

were plainly visible at a distance of thirty miles, giving 
a grand effect to the scenery. ' 

Before concluding these early recollections of Superior, 
we would remark that, next to the town itself, the " Chro- 
nicle," a handsome, ably-edited weekly journal, conducted 
by Messrs. Ashton & Wise, most attracted our attention. 
This newspaper was first issued in June, 1855, and is now 
the oldest journal on Lake Superior. It certainly required 
energy and perseverance of no common order to commence 
its publication so far away from civilization, among a popu- 
lation then of about three hundred. But true native en- 
ergy, as usual, overcame every obstacle, and now its pro- 
prietors are reaping the reward of their sagacity and 
enterprise. It is now in the third year of its existence, 
and has the largest circulation and patronage of any paper 
on Lake Superior, or north and west of St, Paul. Its 

1 Result of Meteorological Observations, taken from the report of 
L. Washington, Esq., at Superior, Douglas county, Wisconsin, Lati- 
tude 46 deg. 38 min. 31 sec, Longitude 92 deg. 3 min. 28 sec. 
Height of station -above the sea, 658 feet. The mean temperature 
is as follows : 

Degrees. 

For the week ending June 1, 1856 55 

« " " 29, « 62 

" " July 12, '* 60 

« « Aug. 2, <* 74: 

" ' " 16, " 62 

« « " 30, « 62 

« " Sept. 6, " 68 

" " " 20, " 53 

** " Oct. 11, " 52 

** " " 18, " 46 

" " Nov. 1, " 38 

" " " 15, " 35 

" " " 29, " 26 

" " Dec. 13, " 20 

" " " 28, " 16 

" " Jan. 3,1857 20 

" " " 11, " 12 



238 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

sales, for the week ending April 1, 1857, amounted to 1500 
copies, and it has done more to attract settlers to the Lake 
Sii]ierior country than any journal on its shores. 

Xothing will better illustrate the steady and healthy ad- 
vancement of the City of Superior, than the following 
report of its progress up to January 1, 1851, compiled 
partly from the semi-annual review of the " Chronicle," 

The population of Superior is composed of persons 
from all sections of our own country, and from almost 
every clime of Europe. The States of Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania are perhaps more strongly represented than the 
others, while the foreign population comprises persons from 
the northern parts of Europe. In June, 1855, the inha- 
bitants immbered nearly 500 ; in January, 185G, 600 ; and 
in January, 1857, over 1500. The increase of houses- pre- 
sents the growth of the town in a remarkable manner. In 
June, 1855, the entire number was 35 ; in June, 1856, 
196 ; and in January, 1857, 340. 

Soon after the town plat was recorded, the proprietors 
placed in the hands of AVm. H. Newton, their agent, about 
twenty-five hundred lots, to be sold to actual settlers — 
binding the latter to improve and build upon them. The 
terms were made reasonable ; requiring one-third of the 
purchase-money in hand, and the residue in one and two 
years. Upon these terms the sales were as follows : 

Yciir. Lots. Price. 

1854 .'. 362 $25,619-00 

1S55 930 86,912-00 

1850 556 29,25500 

Tutal 1848 $141,786-00 

Amounts received on these sales, are, in 

1854 $6,891-00 

1855 73,55900 

1856 32,75000 $113,200-00 

Balance due, exclusive of interest $28,58600 



PROGRESS. 239 

The proceeds of the sales have been applied as follows : 

In the purchase of lands $32,421-00 

Surveying, clerk's office, and other expenses 29,7ir00 

Clearing streets 6,80200 

Building hotel 10,63 iOO 

Building Quebec pier 10,585-00 

Interest on loans, discounts, and other losses 6,61-t-OO 

Loans to sundry individuals and R. R. Co 16,433-00 

The arrivals at the port of Superior, for the past three 
years, bear the following comparisons : 

Year. Steamboats. Sailing Tessels. Total. 

1854 2 5 7 

1855 23 10 33 

1856 40 16 56 

We would remark here, that the trade of Superior alone 
brings these vessels to its piers. It is at the head of navi- 
gation, and there are no towns beyond, or around, of suffi- 
cient importance to employ even one vessel. All the boats 
coming to this place generally stop at the other towns 
along the south shore ; thus the commerce of Superior 
increases the number of arrivals at Marquette and Onton- 
agon, while their commerce contributes nothing towards 
those at this port. 

During the past year, the amount of freight received in 
Superior was about 35,000 barrels; averaging them at 
twelve dollars per barrel, a very moderate estimate, it 
makes a total of $420,000, and, compared with the im- 
ports of 1855, shows an increa.se of about $226,000. We 
have been furnished by the merchants and business men 
with the amount of purchases made by them during the 
past year, and we learn that the following places have 
participated in its trade, and to the extent of the sums 
placed opposite to their names. 



240 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

New York $68,00000 

Chicago 55,100-00 

Cleveland 41,20000 

Pliiladelphia 26,90000 

Detroit 26.60000 

St. Paul 16,00000 

Milwaukee :. 9,000 00 

Boston 6,00000 

Ashtabula 7,00000 

Buffalo 4,50000 

Conneaut, 2,80000 

Kentucky 1,500-00 

Cincinnati 1,000-00 

Indiana 800-00 

New York State 60000 

It was estimated that the amount of lumber brought here 
last summer was 1,800,000 feet. Tlie average cost of this 
lumber was about $20 per thousand, amounting in all to 
$36,000. 

The lands granted for the construction of a railroad from 
Hudson to Superior, and to Bayfield, have passed into the 
hands of the St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad Com- 
pany, who are obliged to open a good wagon road from 
this city to the St. Croix river ; they expect to have the 
railroad in complete order within two years ; large numbers 
of workmen have been employed on the wagon road during 
the past winter, and the contractors have commenced the 
dock and warehouses at the mouth of the Nemadji, in East 
Superior. 

The military road from Superior to Point Douglas, on 
the Mississippi river, is in an excellent condition, and 
teams are daily passing over it. About forty miles south, 
the road from Mille Lac joins the military road, which 
connects there with roads from St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, 
and Little Falls. 

The country bordering on Lake Superior is generally 



AGRICULTURE. 241 

considered too far north to have a favorable climate for 
agriculture. This is a great mistake; its summers are 
shorter, and its winters longer than in Ohio and Indiana, 
yet it is also a fact, that during the same length of time 
in the summer it is favored with more sunlight, owing to 
the greater length of the days. Yegetation consequently 
grows more rapidly, and requires less time to mature. In 
1856, the actual amount of land under cultivation in the 
vicinity of Nemadji river was about sixty acres. The fol- 
lowing table will show the crops raised on the above quan- 
tity of land, and the prices at which they were sold. 

Produce. Bushels. Price per bushel. Total value. 

Potatoes 2130 $1-25 $2,662-50^ 

I'urnips 240 -50 121-00 

^eets 20 1-50 3000 

Parsnips 75 1-50 112-50 

Onions 12 3-00 3600 

Wheat 60 2-00 120-00 

Oats 30 1-25 37-50 

Cabbages 945 heads. 5-00 per hundred. 47-50 

Hay 99 tons. 25-00 per ton. 2,475-00 

Total $5,641-00 

The average value per acre of the products raised is 
about one hundred dollars. It should be remembered, the 
land was cleared during last winter and spring, and the 
crops were planted among the stumps, and wholly by means 
of the hoe. The soil was not turned up ; but holes being 
made in the ground, the seed was dropped in and covered 
over, and thus left to mature. By proper care the crop 
would have been one-third more than it really was. 

During the past winter, in comparing the meteorological 

reports of Superior with observations taken at St. Paul, 

we invariably found a difference in favor of the former of 

from five to ten degrees, notwithstanding it is nearly one 

21 



242 CITY OP SUPERIOR. 

hundred miles north of St. Paul. The Lake Superior win- 
ters are perhaps the most pleasant part of the year. Cold 
weather is experienced in spells of from two to four days at 
a time, and at but two or three periods during the season. 
The remainder of the winter may be said to be delightful, 
being almost continual sunshine. The inhabitants of Supe- 
rior are not annoyed with frequent rains, high winds, or 
heavy snow storms. No rain falls from November to 
April ; and the average depth of snow, for the past two 
winters, has been about twelve inches. The atmosphere is 
dry and highly pregnant with electricity, imparting energy 
and elasticity to the frame. 

BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN SUPERIOR, FOR 1857. 

In looking over the number of buildings to be com- 
menced this summer, and most of them completed before 
the close of navigation, we are surprised at the amount of 
capital about to be expended. There has been no year, 
since the settlement of Superior, that has presented, since 
its opening, as fair a prospect. Hundreds of laborers 
must be employed upon their construction, and they will 
give no little stimulus to trade, in articles of home con- 
sumption. Among the contemplated improvements, we 
notice the dock and warehouse of the St. Croix and Lake 
Superior Railroad Company, in East Superior ; the dock 
is to be three hundred feet long by fifty wide, and the ware- 
house one hundred and ten feet front by forty feet deep. 
The Proprietors of Superior are constructing a very ex- 
tensive dock on the river bank, opposite to the depot 
grounds of the railroad company. It commences on the 
bay front, about seven hundred feet from the mouth of the 
river, and runs from thence a distance of two thousand feet. 
It is to be fifty feet wide, and connected with the main land 
by a causeway at the foot of B-obinson Avenue. A Ma- 



BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS. 



243 



sonic hall has been partly erected on the corner of Third 
street and Stinson Avenue, to cost $7000. The Govern- 
ment lighthouse is commenced, for which an appropriation 
was made several years ago, of $15,000. The 0. S. Pres- 
byterian church, on Sixth street, is now under contract, to 
cost about $3500. It is proposed to erect a very large 
hotel in the vicinity of the Masonic Hall this summer, at a 
cost of $80,000. A company from New York have com- 
menced a substantial pier at Detroit Avenue, and several 
entire blocks of stores are to be erected by Wm. H. New- 
ton, and others. In addition to these improvements, at 
least three hundred buildings of different kinds are to be 
constructed on lots sold by the proprietors to settlers, in 
fulfilment of their contracts. 

In addition to these statistics and facts, we would briefly 
mention some which relate to the intellectual and moral 
growth of Superior. The first public school was opened 
in a building erected for the purpose on Becker Avenue, 
near Pourth street, and shortly after another school-house 
was built near the Nemadji river ; there is also a select 
school, under the control of a lady, which will doubtless 
grow into a female seminary. The first school opened with 
seventeen scholars; now there are about eighty in the 
three. The first Sabbath School was commenced in a room 
in Barstow block, with one teacher and three little girls. 
This school is now the Union Sabbath School of Superior, 
and embraces six teachers and thirty pupils. During the 
past summer, a second Sabbath School was formed m con- 
nection with the Episcopal church, having three teachers 
and twelve pupils. 

The first church erected was in the summer ot 185b, by 
the Episcopalians, on Second street, and is thirty feet by 
twenty-five. The New School Presbyterians have erected 
a church forty feet by twenty-five, and the Old School 



244 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

Presbyterians have commenced their building ; it is to bo 
seventy-five by thirty-five feet. The Roman Catholics have 
purchased a large and comfortable log building on Fourth 
street. The first minister came to the place in August, 
1855 ; the second in November, 1855 ; the third in Feb- 
ruary, 1856 ; and the fourth in July, 1856. The denomi- 
nations they represent are : Presbyterian (Old and New 
School), Methodist Episcopal,* and Episcopal. Each one 
has an organized church, although the membership is not 
large. These facts need no comment ; they show conclu- 
sively that Superior is not destitute of two of the most 
essential elements in the growth and prosperity of any com- 
munity — schools and churches. 

In January, 1856, a number of persons connected with 
the Masonic fraternity met, and took preliminary steps to- 
ward the formation of a lodge in this town. In March the 
lodge was duly opened, under a dispensation from the 
Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, with ten members. At the 
present time it numbers about forty members, and is in a 
highly flourishing condition. The fraternity organized an 
association for the erection of a large and elegant hall, 
which is now partly finished. 

MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS NECESSARY 
TO THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SUPERIOR. 

The following comprises ^few of the manufacturing and 
other interests needed to supply the wants of both present 
and future : — Iron foundries and machine shops ; brick 
manufacturing, pressed or burnt ; stone dressing by ma- 

1 The Rev. David Brook, Presiding Elder of St. Paul District, Min- 
nesota Conference, delivered the first English Protestant sermon ever 
preached in Superior, in the spring of 1855, in what was then the 
carpenter shop of the Superior House, hut now the bar-room. 



REMARKS. 245 

chinery ; * agricultural tools of all kinds ; freight and pas- 
senger cars ; hat and cap, and boot and shoe manufac- 
turing ; sash and blind factories ; planing mills ; wagons, 
carts, wheelbarrows, &c., for farmers and railroads ; steam- 
boats, sail and row boats, &c. Superior and Douglas 
county also need, and will sustain, on an increased scale, 
nurseries, vegetable and flower gardens, seed stores, &c. 

The settlement of Superior was unlike that of many 
other towns, not only in the Western, but in the Eastern 
States. Emigrants from the Atlantic cities, and from most 
points of the Western interior, came here principally on 
steamboats, and brought with them all the conveniences 
and comforts of civilized life ; indeed, many of the luxuries 
were, in about one week^s time, without toil, danger, or 
exposure, transported to their new homes, and in a few 
months they were surrounded with the appendages of civi- 
lization, and the blessings of law and society. 

In the short space of three years, by the agency of steam, 
this wilderness at the extremity of Lake Superior was 
transformed into the settlements of a commercial and civi- 
lized people. Here are to be found stores of every de- 
scription, and some of them will compare favorably with 
many in New York. 

The settler has not to undergo, in this place, the priva- 
tions that were endured by the pioneers of New England, 
or any of the Western States. The ground is easily 
cleared of timber, which is always greatly in demand ; the 
quantity of wood disposed of yearly to the dififerent steam- 

1 An inexhaustible quarry of fine blue granite was lately disco- 
vered at the head of the Bay of Superior, and is now being worked, 
to procure suitable stone for laying the foundations of the Govern- 
ment lighthouse. The blasts throw it off in large square blocks, 
about eight feet long and two wide ; the quality appears to be supe- 
rior to the best New Hampshire granite. 
21* 



246 CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

boats is very great, beside that used by the St. Croix and 
Lake Superior Railroad. The productions of the soil 
meet with a ready market in Sui)erior — mechanics, and 
others, who are enjoying high wages, will live well, on the 
best that can be obtained. The healthfulness of the climate 
is unrivalled ; no ague, or chills and fevers, which are the 
terror of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. In winter, 
no keen, cutting blasts sweep across the lake, as are expe- 
rienced in the prairie States, nor does the snow fall to as 
great a depth. We make these statements to prove tt 
those desirous of settling here, that the hardships, etc., so 
often mentioned by the newspapers in the Atlantic cities, 
to deter settlers from coming westward, are unknown in 
Superior. 

The " Chronicle, "Jn its remarks on the growth of this 
place, thus forcibly contrasts its present with its past 
history : 

" It is a source of sincere gratification to those of our 
citizens who came here in the infant days of Superior, to 
contemplate the rapid progress it has made in the past two 
years, and the encouraging circumstances that now sur- 
round us. Three years ago last month, three of the pre- 
sent proprietors of the town, after encountering the trials 
and fatigues incident to a voyage through the almost path- 
less forest lying between here and St. Paul, arrived at the 
mouth of the Nemadji, and looked for the first time upon 
the broad expanse of water stretching far out before their 
delighted visions, and at the beautiful and capacious bay 
lying tranquilly at their feet. To the left was the present 
site of Superior, an unbrolren forest. No work of art de- 
noted the spot which nature had so admirably formed for a 
mighty city. To them, and to their associates, were en- 
trusted this mission, and how faithfully they have performed 
it the present demonstrates. 



NEMADJI RIVER. 24t 

" Superior, among the towns on Lake Superior that 
have an actual existence, is the youngest, and yet one of 
the largest. Its growth, while it surpasses all others, has 
been healthy. No settlement on the lake has equalled it in 
developing the country adjacent, and none have been as 
successful in opening communication with the more thickly 
settled regions. These things have been accomplished in 
two years. What a mighty work for so short a period I 
In two years a dense forest has been transformed into a 
healthy, prosperous town, numbering at least two hundred 
and fifty houses, and a population exceeding one thou^ 
sand. The brightest fancy of those pioneer men has been 
more than realized." 

NEMADJI RIVER. 

This beautiful stream divides the City of Superior into 
two nearly equal parts, East and West Superior. It is 
from twenty to thirty yards wide, and from three to ten 
feet deep, and unobstructed by rapids, excepting a few in- 
considerable ones, which are easily ascended by canoes. 
On one of its tributaries copper ores have been discovered, 
in large quantities, and several companies are now engaged 
in mining, with fair prospects of success. Near the head 
waters of this river are extensive forests of the finest vari- 
eties of timber, and many lumbermen are employed in 
floating logs to Superior. The first saw-mill in operation 
was erected on its banks between Second and Third streets, 
and the first steamboat which ever ploughed its waters was 
the propeller Manhattan, Captain Spaulding, who ascended 
the river for several miles in 1855. 

The country between the Nemadji and the St. Louis 
rivers is alluvial and heavily timbered. The land is mostly 
taken up by settlers, who have made considerable improve- 
ments, and some of the best farms near Superior are along 



248 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 

its banks. There are still numerous excellent locations 
open to pre-emptors along the railroad. For the benefit 
of those who imagine that the soil of the Lake Superior 
country is unfit for cultivation, we subjoin several very 
interesting letters published in the "Chronicle," from per- 
sons who visited many of the settlers, for the purpose of 
obtaining information in regard to the quality of its soil, 
and its adaptation to raising grass and vegetables. It 
must be borne in mind, that the ground was broken up 
with the hoe, and only in one or two instances a plough 
was used, and the vegetables were merely raised by way of 
experiment. 

William Mann, Esq., in a letter dated October 14, 1856, 
says : — '' Feeling a strong interest in the progress of agri- 
culture, I have made it my business to examine the crops 
on the Nemadji river, where, until this season, nothing was 
grown. I find about thirty acres planted in potatoes, 
which average one hundred and five bushels to the acre. 
The Messrs. Wright have about three acres of winter wheat, 
of a quality better than three-fourths of the wheat grown 
in the United States. They have raised, also, a good crop 
of oats. On the river there are crops of turnips, and ruta 
bagas, that cannot be beat in any part of the Union ; and 
also of most kinds of garden vegetables. I measured 
onions, grown from seed, that were thirteen inches in cir- 
cumference, and a crook- necked squash that measured 
twenty-seven inches long by eleven in circumference; 
oats, heavily-corned and fully ripe, sixty inches in heigM, 
and tomatoes weighing one pound each. 

"We must bear in mind that, as yet, the crops have 
been put in with the hoe, and I know of but two small 
spots where the plough-share has touched the soil. We 
may call this the first year's planting, and it has been de- 
monstrated that we can raise large crops of hay, wheat, 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 249 

oats, peas, beans, salad, radishes, cucumbers, turnips, beets, 
carrots, and parsnips." 

Another correspondent, T. L. F. , in a letter dated Oct. 
21, 1856, says : — "I have taken the liberty of placing be- 
fore you a few reliable facts concerning the progress which 
is being made upon claims on the banks of the Nemadji 
river alone, passing over, for the present, the ** many open- 
ings" between this and the St. Louis river. During the 
past week I have visited all the claims (or, I might say, 
farms) upon the banks of the Nemadji, upon which clear- 
ings have been made and crops raised this year, and from 
a close personal examination of the same, and from infor- 
mation derived from the occupants, I am enabled to give 
you an accurate account of the different crops raised, the 
amount of each, and the number of ac;*es cleared. 

" I will first ask your attention to the claim of Mr. Pat- 
rick Fay. Here I found some twelve acres of land well 
cleared, and upon it three good hewn log houses, which are 
occupied by his mother, sisters, and three brothers. The 
amount of potatoes raised upon this place was three hun- 
dred and fifty bushels ; turnips, about fifty bushels ; and a 
small patch of beets and onions. The onions were raised 
from the seed, and the day I was there Mr. Fay pulled for 
me two that measured each thirteen inches in circuni' 
jerence. 

" From this place I went about two miles down the river 
to the claim of Mr. T. L. Fitch, who has about eight acres 
under cultivation ; he commenced clearing his land the first 
day of June, and, by the time it was ready to plant, the 
season was almost too far advanced ; however, he has 
raised about sixty bushels of potatoes, and fifteen of tur- 
nips, besides eight tons of hay on a meadow near the river. 

" The next claim, half a mile below, is the one upon 
which the 'old warehouse' of the American Fur Company 



250 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 

stands. This house was used long ago by the Comrpany 
for storing their supplies, but is now deserted, and in a very 
diUipidated condition. This claim is owned by Mr. James 
"Wright, who has cut forty tons of hay from a meadow near 
the river. 

" Two claims a short distance back from the Nemadji 
are worthy of notice. One of them, belonging to Mr. E. 
C. Clark, is a very promising farm, the land being well 
adapted to agricultural purposes ; over five acres are 
cleared, on which he has raised sixty bushels of potatoes, 
besides a promising crop of oats and turnips, which were 
entirely destroyed by cattle, the fences having been broken 
down in several places. 

"The next claim I visited was that of Mr. Daniel 
Wright. Here I found a farm in real earnest — over sixty 
acres of land cleared, and a great portion of it in crops. 
He has raised, of wheat, sixty bushels ; of oats, thirty 
bushels ; turnips, fifty bushels (some of them weighing ten 
pounds) ; parsnips, seventy-five bushels ; potatoes, four 
hundred bushels ; onions, two bushels ; and hay, ten tons. 
This is the largest clearing in Nemadji township, and better 
land cannot be found anywhere. I have seen Mr. Wright 
dig a bushel of potatoes from seven hills, and I think the 
average of his crop will yield a bushel to every ten hills. 
From one hill he dug fifty-eight potatoes, and this, from 
new land, which has never been ploughed, I think is a very 
fair yield. 

" From the Wrights I went to the claim of Mr. W. F. 
Robinson, who has a little over two acres cleared, on which 
he raised twenty-five bushels of potatoes, one hundred 
bushels of turnips, and two tons of hay. 

"Adjoining Mr. Robinson is the claim of Mr. Wm. 
Crawford, who has two acres cleared, and cut eigkteen tons 
of hay from one meadow on his place. 



AGRICULTUEAL RESOURCES. 251 



ti 



" From this I visited the farm of Mr. Wm. E. Slayton. 
The river runs through this claim, and he has a house and 
a clearing on each side ; upon one side eight acres are 
under cultivation, upon which were raised two hundred and 
fifty bushels of potatoes, nine hundred heads of cabbages, 
and fifty bushels of turnips. Crossing the river, I ex- 
amined the other clearing of over three acres ; here he had 
raised six hundred bushels of potatoes, and larger potatoes 
I never saw. On the 18th of June, Mr. Slayton planted 
some peas, beans, and corn, all of which came to maturity, 
and looked well. He also raised half a barrel of large and 
fine cucumbers, ten bushels of beets, five tons of hay, and 
small quantities of pumpkins, squashes, carrots, parsnips, 
vegetable oysters, lettuce, etc., for the sake of experiment, 
all of which came to maturity, and grew large and fine. 
One parsnip, which was pulled up for me last Saturday, 
measured thirty-two inches ; this was not its entire length, 
as the end remained in the ground ; a beet pulled at the 
same time measured twenty inches. 

*' The next place I visited was that of Mr. Ira F. Holt, 
who has eight acres of land cleared, on which he raised 
four hundred bushels of potatoes, one hundred and fifty of 
turnips, and two of tomatoes. He also cut sixteen tons 
of hay on one meadow. 

*' But I fear I am trespassing on your good nature, and 
will therefore close this for the present, although I have 
not yet spoken of Mr. Burbank's place, upon which he has 
raised a large crop of potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, etc., 
nor that of Mr. Nettleton, and others. 

*'From a recapitulation of these few claims, we find 
that of 

Land cleared, there is 118 acres. 

Bushels of potatoes raised 2130 

" turnips 240 



252 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 

Bushels of beets 20 

" parsnips 75 

" onions 12 

" wheat 60 

" oats 30 

Heads of cabbage 950 

Tons of hay cut 99 

" You will perceive that potatoes and turnips are the 
principal crops raised — all the others being pretty much for 
the sake of experimenting. " 

Mr. r. H. Chasseur, horticulturist, in a letter dated 
March 24, 1857, says: — "Having, like many other for- 
tune-seekers, travelled over all your great republic, I finally, 
by the advice of a gentleman of Kentucky, steered my 
course to Superior, where I found everything more satis- 
factory than I expected. I did not come to this place for 
the sake of speculation, but to get a home to proceed la 
the works of nature. 

" Many times I have been astonished to hear individuals 
coming from still further northern climates say, "but it is 
no farming country," I would beg strangers not to judge 
the ' dog by his hair ;' examine first, and you will find your 
error. The soil in and around Superior contains from ten 
to twenty-five per cent, of marl, and a far better alkali 
than we find in the animal manure, and a property you will 
not find in your black soil. Yes, gentlemen, in a soil like 
the one we have here, when properly worked, one is able 
to produce almost anything. I think, for my part, that in 
the many fine species of vegetables that were exhibited at 
your ofiBce last fall, we already have had satisfactory proof 
of this assertion. They were, indeed, a grand show ; and 
far better than I have seen or raised myself in the older 
States, where I followed gardening for fourteen years. 
Farmers well know that snow is a fertilizer, and small 
grain protected during the winter months is sure of pro- 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 253 

ducing a good crop. Such is the case at Superior. Never 
in my days have I experienced a finer and more blessed 
winter ; beneficial to the crops, yet protected from the rays 
of the sun, which would otherwise draw up the weak plants 
and expose them to the frosts at night, which is common 
in northern latitudes. 

"The vegetable, as well as the floral kingdom, is richer 
here than in any latitude I ever met with before. Many 
rare and fine species I have seen in the wild state ; and to 
my great surprise, one morning, while boating on the beau- 
tiful Neraadji, I found a new species of the yellow honey- 
suckle (caprifolium) adorning the banks of that stream. I 
shall never forget that morning, and the impression made 
upon my mind to see those beautiful banks, richly lined 
with shrubbery, and interspersed with trees of different 
sorts, so tastefully ordered. I have frequently met with 
the fine Tiger lily, and the pretty Aggeratus (the latter I 
saw last spring selling in New York at twenty-five cents 
each). Ranunculus, roses, and many a fine species of the 
Urabelito family. Plums, gooseberries (without mildew), 
strawberries, whortleberries, cranberries, and raspberries, 
grow everywhere throughout the woods, and as good as I 
ever saw in their cultivated state. Finer turnips — and the 
Swedish ruta baga with other kinds — I have never seen 
since I left Sweden. The potatoes grown here excel any- 
thing of the kind I have ever met with. They contain 
more starts, and are consequently more nutritious for hu- 
man food. A specimen of wheat raised here was indeed a 
fair sample, and not the small and shrunken grain grown in 
other States, but full and plump. From my observations 
I confidently believe we will yet raise apples, peas, cherries, 
etc., because I say about this country as Mr. Cobbet ex- 
presses himself in his 'American Gardener' about Long 
22 



254 ST. LOUIS RIVER. 

Island, IN'ew York, ' When you see the blossom the fruit 
will follow. ' 

"The tiller of the soil abroad who wishes to get a 
healthy, rich, and cheap home, can, from the above state- 
ments, conclude whether or not to settle in Superior. 
Farmers are wanted here. Without them no country can 
exist." 

THE ST. LOUIS RIVER. 

This river rises in the northeastern part of Minnesota, 
and enters Lake Superior on the west. It is extremely 
rocky, and so full of sunken boulders and dangerous rapids 
that it never could be made navigable further up than Fond 
du Lac, which is twenty miles from the City of Superior. 
The action of its waters, and those of the lake, have formed 
a narrow strip of land, about seven miles in length, jutting 
out from the Minnesota shore, which, in connection with a 
similar point from the Wisconsin shore, in an opposite di- 
rection, forms the Bay of Superior. At the head of this 
bay the river again widens out into another bay of about 
the same size, which is called the Bay of St. Louis ; from 
thence to Fond du Lac, the old trading-post of the Fur 
Company, the river is wide, and of sufficient depth to admit 
the passage of any of the craft which ply upon the lake. 
It is somewhat crooked, containing numerous islands, some 
wooded, and others covered with excellent grass, and fields 
of wild rice. The St. Louis flows through a rich alluvial 
bottom, from one to three miles in width, partly timbered, 
and partly covered with natural meadows. From the Bay 
of St. Louis to the falls, its northern shore is bold and 
rugged ; the blufifs on the south side are similar to those 
of the north for several miles below the falls. Immense 
quantities of excellent stone, suitable for building purposes, 
and slate, are on its banks, and from the surface indications 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 255 

we would infer tbat valuable mineral ores abound. During 
the past winter the lumbermen have not been idle ; the first 
raft consisted of twenty-nine hundred logs, and was towed 
by the steamboat James Carson, on the 24th of May, from 
near Fond du Lac to the Du Luth mill. Much of the land 
along this river is already occupied by settlers, and the 
productions raised for experiment will equal, if not surpass, 
in quality and size, those- of any State in the Union. A 
great many specimens of vegetables, etc., were deposited 
at the office of the "Chronicle" for the purpose of exhibi- 
tion. Among them were the following : a stalk of corn, 
eleven feet six inches long, bearing an ear fourteen inches 
in length, and well proportioned ; it was the common yel- 
low corn, and was raised from a grain picked up on Quebec 
pier ; several potatoes, weighing each two pounds. Mr. 
D. Geo. Morrison contributed a sample of very large pota- 
toes raised in St. Louis county, containing /br/y-^ue to the 
bushel. There were also many specimens of ruta baga 
turnips, weighing five, six, and nine pounds, and one of 
eleven pounds, which measured thirty-five inches in circum- 
ference. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PRINCirAL TOWNS CONTINUED — ONTONAGON — MARQUETTE^ 
EAGLE RIVER — EAGLE HARBOR — COPPER HARBOR — BAY- 
FIELD — LA POINTE BAY CITY AND ASHLAND, ETC. 

Ontonagon, the largest mining depot, and the second 
town in size on Lake Superior, is situated at the mouth of 
the Ontonagon river. The most productive copper mine 
in the world, the Minnesota, which we have before de- 
scribed, and several other very promising ones, are but a 
short distance from this town. It has a population of 
about 1200, a large proportion of which are connected with 
the mines. During the past winter, there has been 690 
feet added to the western side of the harbor, making the 
total length of the west pier 1115 feet. It will shortly 
receive another addition of 100 feet, which will carry it out 
into twelve feet water. The eastern pier has been also ex- 
tended, and is now over 500 feet. We learn from the On- 
tonagon Miner of June 15, 1857, that the steamer "Mine- 
ral Rock" went out a few days previous with 123 tons of 
copper on board, and drawing over eight feet water ; this 
is the legitimate effect of the recent improvement of the 
harbor. A new brick powder magazine is shortly to bo 
erected on the river above Rose island ; an improvement 
much needed, as the Ontonagon district uses over ten thou- 
sand kegs of powder yearly ; and a new omnibus makes 
daily trips to the mines for the accommodation of the tra- 
velling public. Ontonagon will, in less than three years, 

(25G) 



PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 25T 

be in connection with Milwaukee and Cliicago by railroad ; 
when these roads are completed, a new era will be opened 
in the history of Lake Superior mining, and the miners will 
be enabled to send copper to market at all seasons of the 
year. The value of the copper shipped from this port in 
1856 exceeded $1,000,000. 

Marquette is one of the most important and flourishing 
towns on the lake, and is named in honor of one of the 
early French Jesuit explorers. It owes its importance to 
its iron mines, and may be appropriately called the iron 
city of Lake Superior. Many houses were erected last 
year, of neat and tasteful designs, besides four stores, a car 
factory for the Iron Mountain Railroad Company, an 
office for the Canal Company, an extensive pier, and the 
Marquette House has been enlarged and fitted up. The 
mines are a few miles back of the town, connected with it 
by a railroad, the first one completed on Lake Superior. 
The amount of iron shipped from this port, in 1856, was 
20,538 gross tons, valued at $102,600. The facilities for 
taking out ore, and carrying it to the lake, are now such 
as will enable the various companies to mine upwards of 
200,000 tons the present year. Immense quantities of 
marble have been discovered, of various shades of beauty, 
within four or five miles from the town, near the Iron 
Mountain Railroad; new varieties are constantly being 
brought to light, and as some of its most enterprising citi- 
zens are actively engaged in developing these quarries, 
there is no doubt that, in a year or two, a large trade will 
spring up with the Eastern cities. The late land grant 
from Government to the State of Michigan for railroad 
purposes, provides for two roads terminating at this place. 
These companies are now united with the Chicago, St. 
Paul, and Fond du Lac, and are actively at work at various 
points on the route between Marquette and Fond du Lac. 



258 PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 

Tlie Marquette Journal of June 20, 1857, says: — "The 
number of buildings now in progress of erection is nearly 
double that of last year, while the railroad and manufac- 
turiug interests are contributing their mighty impulse to 
expand our dimensions and importance. At the Jackson 
mountain the miners have uncovered a perpendicular wall 
of some 160 feet in length and about 50 feet high. The 
ore thus exposed is of the very best quality, and, by putting 
in a large blast a quantity can be thrown out of from 100 
to 1000 tons." 

Eagle River. — This town, as a copper-mining depot, 
is second only to Ontonagon ; it is situated on one of the 
loveliest spots on the shore, and possesses an excellent 
harbor. Six miles distant is the celebrated Cliff, North 
America, and several other mines. We visited the two 
former, and were astonished at the numbers of immense 
masses of pure copper, weighing from three to eight tons 
each, lying on the ground ready for shipment, and had the 
pleasure of seeing one weighing six tons hoisted out of the 
Cliff mine. These masses are somewhat unwieldy, and are 
carted from the mines to the lake, and then hoisted into the 
holds of steam propellers. The stamping mills are an 
object of interest to visitors ; here the ore is well crushed 
and washed ; it is then packed in kegs ready for shipment. 
In 1856, the value of the copper exported from Eagle 
River was estimated at about $1,000,000. 

Eagle Harbor is steadily increasing in size, and in 
shipments from its copper mines. It has an excellent har- 
bor, and is one of the usual stopping-places of the steam- 
boats, on their way to and from the head of the lake. 

Copper Harbor is situated on the eastern limits of the 
copper range ; near it is Fort Wilkins, a place of delightful 
summer resort, of considerable reputation, under the direc- 
tion of Dr. Livermore. 



PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 259 

Bayfield is situated on the shore of Lake Superior, 
opposite or near the Apostles' islands, in La Pointe county, 
Wisconsin, eighty miles below Superior. AVhen we visited 
this place in June, 1856, not a house, or a clearing, marked 
the spot of the future city ; now it has a population of 
several hundred inhabitants, many good substantial build- 
ings, including a large hotel, a pier four hundred feet long, 
besides a large steam saw-mill, and a well-edited weekly 
newspaper, called the Bayfield Mercury. It is surrounded 
with a rich agricultural country, containing vast unde- 
veloped resources of minerals, and the finest varieties of 
timber ; it possesses a most excellent harbor, and is con- 
nected with St. Paul by a good wagon road. The Bay- 
field branch of the St. Croix and Lake Superior Railroad 
terminates here, and is now under survey. The traveller 
cannot help contrasting this young and rising place with 
the ancient settlement of La Pointe across the bay. One 
was settled by French, Half-Breeds, and Indians. But 
Bayfield shows plainly what the energy and activity of the 
American race can accomplish. 

La Pointe, one of the oldest towns in the I^J'orthwest, 
was first settled by the French Jesuits and traders in 1680. 
It is situated on Madeline, the largest of the Apostles' 
islands, four hundred and twenty miles west of the Sault 
Ste. Marie. The air of vigorous life belonging to the new 
settlement is wholly wanting here ; everything looks old 
and worn out; the dilapidated pickets that formerly en- 
closed the place, its ruined fort, the old Fur Company's 
buildings, some of them still standing, and the lazy, care- 
less air of the few French traders, and the half-breeds 
lounging about the wharves, present quite a sorrowful con- 
trast with the bustle and business of many other points on 
Lake Superior. 

Dr. Owen says : — "As a site for a town, and especially 



260 PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 

as a place of resort for health and pleasure, La Pointe 
offers advantages beyond any portion of the main land in 
Wisconsin. As a fishing station it is unrivalled. The 
bays and creeks of the numerous islands and main shore 
are amongst the best fishing-grounds on the whole lake for 
trout, siskawit, and white fish, or lake shad. It lies on a 
magnificent bay, nearly three miles across, and is capable 
of containing at anchor, secure from all winds, a numerous 
fleet of the largest class vessels. La Pointe was originally 
selected by the adventurous traders of the Northwest Fur 
Company, as the most eligible site for a depot and trading- 
post in the Northwest Territory ; and was, for a long time, 
their principal rendezvous, and the centre of their exten- 
sive and wide-spread operations. It is not only one of the 
most commanding and accessible situations on Lake Supe- 
rior, but it presents one of the most agreeable and pic- 
turesque lake scenes the tourist can well imagine. 

" Lake Superior has, at times, not only the varied inte- 
rest, but the sublimity of a true ocean. Its blue, cold, 
transparent waters, undisturbed by tides, lie, during a calm, 
motionless and glassy as those of any small, secluded lake, 
reflecting, with perfect truth of form and color, the in- 
verted landscape that slopes down to its smooth, sandy 
beach. But when this inland sea is stirred by the rising 
tempest, the long sweep of its waves, and the curling white- 
caps that crest its surface, give warning, not only to the 
light bark canoe, still much used along its shores, but also 
to sloop and schooner and lake steamer, to seek some shel- 
tering haven. At such times, craft of every description 
may be seen running before the wind, or beating up against 
it, all making for the most favorite harbor on the lake — 
the sheltered bay of Madeline island." 

La Pointe is often mentioned in connection with many 
of the early Jesuit missionaries. Here was the scene of 



PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 261 

the labors of Allouez, of the distinguished Marquette, and 
of an Indian battle between the warlike Dakotas and the 
Algonquins, in which the chapel of the Holy Spirit, erected 
by these devoted missionaries, was destroyed. 

Bay City and Ashland are points of note a few miles 
from Bayfield, at the head of Chegwomigon Bay, and wero 
laid out in the fall of 1856. Each has its pier, stores, and 
buildings, and possesses a commodious harbor, with a depth 
of water from twelve to thirty feet. In a few years they 
will be connected with Milwaukee and Chicago by railroads. 

Grand Island City is opposite the island of the same 
name ; its harbor is pronounced by Schoolcraft to be one 
of the best in America ; it was recently laid out by a com- 
pany formed in Philadelphia, who are actively at work con- 
structing a pier, saw-mill, hotel, and other buildings, and 
opening a road to Little Bay de Noquet, on Green Bay, a 
distance of about forty miles. 

Buchanan, Burlington, Encampment Island, Bea- 
ver Bay, Endion, Saxon, Hiawatha, and Grand Port- 
age, are all flourishing towns on the north shore of Min- 
nesota, and some of them numbering their hundreds of 
inhabitants. 

Du LuTH, at the head of the Bay of Superior, is rapidly 
growing in importance ; a large amount of lumber is manu- 
factured here; it was laid out in 1856, and now contains 
several hundred inhabitants. Extensive quarries of fine 
blue granite have been discovered and worked recently, a 
short distance from this place, and as they lie about one 
hundred and fifty feet from the Bay of Superior, will be 
easily shipped to market. The discovery of this supply of 
stone will be the commencement of a new era in buildiii"* 
in this section of country. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE EARLY SETTLER OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 

The progress and prosperity of the new towns and set- 
tlements bordering on this magnificent lake have been 
almost marvellous ; yet Nature has not been easily won, 
or her treasures gained without a contest worthy of their 
merits. Those who have viewed the first openings of some 
of these towns, must have been impressed with the com- 
fortless, lonely, and even dreary look of the early settler's 
small log cabin. In the centre of a dense forest, the first 
footprints of civilization in this wilderness were to be re- 
cognized only by the felled trees and decaying boughs 
which mark the site of his labors to obtain a home in that 
distant wild. He seems not unlike the sinking mariner 
clinging in desperation to the wreck of a frail bark, beaten 
by the surging waves, which threaten every moment to 
engulf him. Every morning the same boundless forest 
greets his eye, and his only hope against its encompassing 
him forever, lies in the axe resting on his strong shoulder, 
and the indomitable courage and noble resolution throbbing 
in his bosom. His heart beats as he recognizes in the 
many beauties of nature by which his every step is sur- 
rounded, the beneficent hand of an All-wise Creator, who 
has guided his wandering feet to these highly-favored 
shores, and he resolves, by perseverance and industry, there 
to establish his home. 

The settler has a cabin, though apparently cheerless and 

(2G2) 



THE EARLY SETTLER. 263 

devoid of comfort ; but he is contented, and even happy 
Every man is by nature a poet, and there is no path in life 
so rude and thorny that its miseries are not softened and 
its desolation gilded by poetry. " Hope springs eternal 
in the human breast," and stimulates him to new efforts. 
This little clearing on the picturesque and beautiful shores 
of this " Father of Lakes," which, to some, might appear 
almost unable to yield subsistence, is his home, and fancy 
has tinged, with her bright and glowing colors, the dreams 
of the early settler. As he gazes upon his small posses- 
sion his heart swells in thankfulness to his Maker, 

"For there are tlionglits ■which God alike has given 
To high and low — and these are thoughts of heaven." 

He considers not its size ; to him it encourages expecta- 
tions of an extensive farm, fertile fields waving with golden 
grain, and hope adds, perhaps, an "Addition" to the future 
city. This poetical illusion, this dream of fancy, as you 
may style it, sustains him in his fatiguing labors, and con- 
tentment diffuses her bright and happy influence around his 
rude fireside. 

Winter, in its cold cheerlessness, flies rapidly by, and, 
owing to the fine climate of Lake Superior, there are but 
few days in which he cannot toil in the open air. He is 
not annoyed by the piercing blast, rain, and sleet ; it is 
true, earth is concealed by her beautiful covering of snow, 
but it serves to shield the tender corn he has planted from 
the destroying frost. But now the warmer air seems to 
predict the coming of lovely spring, and clothes in strange 
beauty his forest home. Twilight casts her softened beams 
over the waving forest, tinging it with the roseate hue of 
even. Near the cabin is seen the pioneer busy at his toil, and 

His axe rings sharply 'mid those forest shades, 
Which from creation towards the skies had tower'd 
In unshorn beauty. 



264 THE EARLY SETTLER. 

The laup;hing faces of his happy children speak peace and 
contentment ; he has made himself a home in a dense wil- 
derness, and it is the boast of his strength and manliness 
that here he will achieve the respectability of his family. 
He has heard the story of thousands of settlers in Wiscon- 
sin, who have been victorious in the same struggle with 
hardships, and he resolves to follow their noble example. 

Spring has returned once more, bringing with it not only 
a new life to the earth, but also invigorating the strength 
of man. The ice king relaxes his iron grasp on the waters 
of the lake, and all nature smiles. Soon the sound of a 
bell is heard, and then a noble steamboat is seen ploughing 
the waves of this inland sea. Our settler receives with 
open arms the strangers, and bids them welcome to his 
cabin until they have made their "cZaims." Thus every 
boat brings a full complement of emigrants — farmers, me- 
chanics, laborers, speculators, etc., all busy and energetic; 
trees are cut down, houses are springing up on all sides, 
streets being cut out and graded, and a new town rapidly 
rises on the shores of this beautiful lake. The current of 
population still flows on to this favored spot. Now mark 
its progress ; where the first lonely cabin of our friend the 
settler was situated, is now occupied by his own neat frame 
house ; further on are rows of comfortable dwellings ; here 
a saw-mill ; there a church. One would think we were 
transported back to the days of "Aladdin," and his kind 
genius was moving about on the shores of Lake Superior. 
One of his dreams is accomplished — his ^'claiiiV^ is now 
included in the town ; where he once toiled from morn till 
night to clear a few acres, is now selling at so much per 
lot ; he sees himself growing richer every day with the 
growth of the town ; the railroad bill is passed, and the 
road commenced a short distance from him. He cannot 
realize his good fortune ; his children now are well dressed, 



THE EARLY SETTLER. 265 

and you meet their smiling faces on their way to the little 
log school-house. One would think that they had never 
known the hardships of a " pioneer life. " 

Winter comes again, and finds our friend snug and com- 
fortable in his new house. The coldest winds may blow, 
the snow may fall, but what matter ? All day long, and 
at night, huge fires are blazing in his hearth ; his store- 
house is filled abundantly with the good things of life. As 
he sits at his fireside, his thoughts revert to his native 
place — to the old homestead — to the days of his boyhood, 
when his father and himself toiled from morn till night, and 
barely eked out a subsistence, in one of the Eastern States. 
He well recollects the day he first heard of the Northwest 
— of Wisconsin — of Lake Superior — where thousands of 
acres were opened to pre-emption. It was hard to leave 
his childhood's home, but he had a young family of his own 
to look up to him. Shall he bring them up to poverty and 
want, or bid adieu to home and friends and try the North- 
west ? He emigrates ; and now when he looks at his chil- 
dren, as they are playing about, and the dear partner of 
his life, his heart swells with thankfulness to the beneficent 
Creator of all things. He thanks Him, that he was bora 
in a free and happy land, under the protection of such a 
government; for the pre-emption law, that protects the 
poor man, and enables him to have his own "vine and fig 
tree;" last of all, but not least, that his wandering steps 
were directed to these shores. 

My readers, this is no fancy sketch, but a true picture 
of the life of many early settlers, not only on Lake Supe- 
rior, but also in many other places in the Northwest. 
Here are golden opportunities opening every day to emi- 
grants. Immense tracts of the finest land in the country 
are still open to pre-emption, and let no man say "I am 
23 



266 THE EARLY SETTLER. 

too late, ^^ while he has land inviting, and the strong arm 
of the law protecting him. Should he want a market for 
his prodnce, here are steamboats and railroads at his very 
door. Let the example of this early settler induce others 
to do likewise, and reap, as he now does, the reward of 
his sagacity and enterprise. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A TOUR — MILWAUKEE TO ST. PAUL — STEAMBOAT LIFE — 

SCENERY ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI — LAKE PEPIN 

TOWNS ST. PAUL ITS IMPROVEMENTS, ETC. CANOE 

VOYAGE ON THE ST. CROIX AND BRULE RIVERS TO TITE 
CITY OF SUPERIOR. 

As few travellers to the Northwest are now willing to 
retrace their steps before reaching the regions of the 
"Upper Mississippi," the falls of St. Anthony, and per- 
haps the newly-settled city at the head of Lake Superior, 
a short description of such a tour may not be without inte- 
rest to some of my readers.' 

Who would have supposed, even five years ago, that 
such an extended tour could be made, or that Lake Supe- 
rior, w^hich was then the Ultima Thule of American geo- 
graphy, w^ould be traversed by tri-weekly lines of steam- 
boats, laden with passengers and freight, in the year 1857 ? 
Yet these are the facts, and in three years, at the very 
farthest, a continuous line of railroad will reach from Mil- 
waukee to St. Paul, the head of Lake Superior, and pro- 
bably to the Pacific Ocean. 

I Yery few Eastern people have a correct conception of 
the progress of the Northwest. The imagination of some 
is filled with visions of boundless prairies, with their rich 
soil and vegetation — a wide expanse of natural garden 
plot ; others, again, picture to themselves lonely settlements 

1 For the table of distances, see p. 159. 

(267) 



268 A TOUR. 

in dense forests, or Indian lodges on the banks of some 
rapid river. A very short time since Wisconsin was con- 
sidered the far West ; now its fertile prairies are beginnini^ 
to be thickly dotted over with the comfortable homes of 
settlers, and its forests are rapidly disappearing before the 
demands of commerce. The few solitary Indians scattered 
about here and there, serve but to remind one of the past, 
and of the progress of the "pale faces." 

Taking Milwaukee as the starting-point, the traveller is 
quickly carried over the Milwaukee and Mississippi Rail- 
road, through some of the finest scenery and richest agri- 
cultural counties in Wisconsin. In a few hours, the beau- 
tiful city of Madison and the 'Tour Lakes" are passed, 
and the train enters the magnificent valley of the Wiscon- 
sin, which is about three miles wide, and runs nearly due 
west for forty miles. It is very level, and surrounded on 
either side with picturesque bluffs, rising to the height of 
from three to five hundred feet. Along this valley the 
train sweeps in fine style ; the road is so direct and smooth, 
that the rate of thirty miles an hour is attained without the 
passengers being incommoded by the motion of the cars. 
At this speed Prairie du Chien, the terminus of the road, 
is soon reached. Here a first-class steamboat is awaiting 
the arrival of the train, and in a short time is rapidly 
ploughing the waters of this mighty river. 

These steamboats are among the best in the country, the 
cabins spacious and elegant, the state-rooms commodious, 
and the tables equal to the ordinaries of the best hotels. 
The officers are not only accommodating, but particularly 
polite and hospitable, treating the passengers as their 
guests, and taking pains to render the voyage agreeable. 
A trip to St. Paul ' on one of these boats often resembles 
a party of pleasure, and combines in its incidents much 

1 This trip to St. Paul lias been made in 70 hours from New York. 



A TOUR. 269 

variety and no small degree of luxury. Large and cheer- 
ful parties thus meet, and, as they must necessarily be at 
least one day together, accommodate themselves to each 
other, and at night, when the spacious cabin is lighted up, 
enlivened by the merry notes of the piano or violin, and 
filled with well-dressed persons, engaged in the mazy dance, 
it seems more like a floating palace than a mere conveyance 
for travellers. 

What a motley mixture compose the passengers on an 
*'up river" steamboat. Here are persons going out to 
look at the country, and select homes for their families, 
travellers on business, and parties for pleasure, besides nu- 
merous emigrants. Many little episodes of life are daily 
occurring, strongly marked and full of interest. How 
many of those who come out to settle are incapable of en- 
during a brief pioneer experience ! Even where the ob- 
stacles are lightest, and the goal nearest, there are many 
who have neither faith nor courage to meet them. 

The scenery of the " Upper Mississippi" is truly magni- 
ficent ; its charm consists in the succession of beautiful 
pictures presented to the eye ; as soon as one disappears, 
another opens to the view. The bluffs on either side of the 
river constitute some of the most picturesque scenery in the 
world, often rising over two hundred feet above the water 
level, and remind one of huge fortifications in the distance. 
The rocks jutting out of the sides of some of them, appear 
to have been cut smooth by a sculptor's chisel ; occasion- 
ally they rise to a sharp peak, the top and sides of which 
are thinly covered with trees of various kinds ; at intervals 
the cabins of the settlers may be seen at the foot of some 
of these bluff's. The river, in many places, is full of islands, 
thickly wooded with willow and other trees, and shrubbery 
covered with vines. 

About one hundred miles above Prairie du Chien the 
23* 



2T0 A TOUR. 

scenery changes from the beautiful and the picturesque to 
an aspect of grandeur ; some of the bhififs rise to an alti- 
tude of over six hundred feet, thinly covered with trees, 
giving them a mysterious beauty, impossible to describe ; 
about seventy miles above Winona, the river widens, and 
forms a beautiful sheet of water, called Lake Pepin, which 
is surrounded by high bluffs. At the entrance is seen one 
higher than the rest, standing out in bold relief, called the 
Maiden's Rock, or Cap des Sioux ; from this rock, tradi- 
tion informs us, Winona, the daughter of an Indian chief, 
precipitated herself, rather than marry one she could not 
love. If the steamboat enters this lake at the close of a 
clear summer's day, the view presented is truly sublime, and 

" Long shadows fall 
More darkly o'er the wave as day declines. 
Yet from the West a deeper glory shines, 
While every crested bluff and rocky height, 
Each moment varies in the kindling light 
To some new form of beauty — changing through 
All shades and colors of the rainbow's hue, 
*The last still loveliest,' till the gorgeous day 
Melts in a flood of golden light away, 
And all is o'er." 

But there are many important towns situated on the 
banks of this noble river, and some of them require at 
least a passing notice. La Crosse, the terminus of the La 
Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad, in 1853, contained some 
four or five stores, and perhaps fifty dwellings ; now it is a 
thriving place, with over 5000 inhabitants. Winona, forty 
miles above, on the Minnesota shore, is another instance 
of rapid growth ; last year over six hundred new buildings 
were erected, and the population now exceeds 4000. Red 
Wing, a few miles above, was settled about the same year, 
and has now a population of about 2000. Hastings, 



A 



A TOUR. 271 

thirty-five miles below St. Paul, is a very thriving town, 
and its landing always displays a busy scene. Nininger 
City, seven miles above Hastings, was laid out by Messrs. 
John Nininger and Ignatius Donnelly, in the fall of 1856, 
and now contains about one hundred buildings and a popu- 
lation of at least five hundred. The sudden growth of this 
place shows what combination and concentrated effort can 
do to assist location. A few miles further is Kaposia, for- 
merly called Crow Village, from being the residence of a 
band of Sioux Indians,, who were removed two years ago 
by orders from Government. 

Soon after leaving Kaposia, the beautiful panorama of 
St. Paul, the Diadem city of the Northwest, and its sur- 
rounding country, burst on the view. On a high bluff, on 
the eastern bank of the river, the city is seen spread out, 
with its conspicuous public buildings and churches, and 
numerous steamboats at its landing. Every American has 
heard of St. Paul ; its rapid growth has caused great as- 
tonishment ; this, however, none can adequately realize but 
those who have visited the place in its early days. He who 
'- saw this city as it was eight years ago, and sees it as it is 
now, might well conceive that nothing short of supernatural 
power could have produced the marvellous change. It was 
nought, however, but the miracle of American courage and 
perseverance, fostered under American institutions. 

After an interval of four years, I revisited this rising me- 
tropolis ; on arrival at the landing I observed that the bluff 
had been cut away, and the place where one formerly was 
obliged to climb a steep flight of steps to reach the street 
was now occupied by large stone warehouses. Along Third 
street the change was, if possible, more striking ; nearly all 
the old frame houses were removed, and many handsome brick 
and stone stores filled their places. The First Presbyterian 
church remained as formerly, but its founder, that true 



2T2 A TOUR. 

friend of Minnesota, the Rev. E. D. Neill, no longer offi- 
ciated ; he has charge now of the new College lately erected 
by his efforts in "Upper Town." The Capitol building, 
the Winslow House, and the Central Presbyterian church, 
which I daily observed in process of construction, had 
been completed over two years. Nor had the march of 
improvement been confined only to this part of the city ; 
the dense forest, which formerly covered what is now West 
St. Paul, on the opposite bank of the river, had been 
cleared oflf and laid out into town lots. Before these 
changes were made, the smoke of the approaching steam- 
boat could be distinctly seen from Third street, above the 
tops of the trees, several hours before its arrival, and num- 
bers used to hurry down to the landing to meet their 
friends ; now so many boats arrive daily, that the only ones 
who appear interested in them are the drivers of the differ- 
ent hotel coaches, who congregate on the landing, loudly 
vociferating to the unfortunate travellers — Fuller House, 
Winslow, American, Snelling, &c. 

Of the numerous Indians that formerly were to be seen 
in all parts of St. Paul, not one remained. They, too, had' 
retreated before the march of improvement to the distant 
wilderness towards the setting sun. It was highly grati- 
fying to me to find that so many of the "old residents" 
had increased in wealth along with the city, and that the 
pioneer newspapers, the St. Paul Pioneer and Democrat, 
and the Daily Minnesotian, had, from their altered appear- 
ance, also shared in the general prosperity. These papers 
are now published daily, and have an extensive circulation 
throughout the entire Union. 

Were a stranger informed, on first arriving, that the 
greater part of the present site of this city could, nine 
years ago, have been purchased at $1-25 per acre, he would 
feel himself justified iu believing his informant was im- 



A TOUR. 2Y3 

posing upon his credulity ; and when I compare the pre- 
sent St. Paul with the first sketch ever taken by an artist, 
from the opposite bank of the river, and which I placed in 
the hands of the engraver, I myself can hardly realize the 
change. Mr. Bond afterwards copied this lithograph, and 
it may be seen in his work on Minnesota and its Resources. 

In 1849, when the Hon. Alexander Ramsey was ap- 
pointed the first Governor of Minnesota, there was but a 
handful of people in the whole territory, and they princi- 
pally Canadians and half-breeds ; now the present popula- 
tion of St. Paul alone exceeds 15,000, and in 1856 the 
number of visitors arriving from January to July, at only 
four of its principal hotels, was 28,000. In 1849 there 
were 85 steamboat arrivals, and in 1856 they had increased 
to 83 1. Several railroads are now rapidly approaching, to 
connect it with the Eastern cities and Lake Superior. 

Having always asserted that a great city icould natu- 
rally spring up at the head of navigation on the Missis- 
sijypi, and that another would also arise at the head of 
Lake Superior, in Wisconsin, and altogether disclaiming 
any consideration as a foreteller of future events, yet, 
let any one, if he can, now deny either fact. 

We might proceed to describe the Fuller House, the 
largest hotel in the Northwest, the old Catholic church, 
from which St. Paul takes its name, the Historical So- 
ciety's building, the Baldwin school, the numerous beau- 
tiful private residence's, the gas works, the new bridge 
across the river, the famous cave, the pleasant afternoon 
drives to the Falls of St. Anthony and the lovely Minne- 
haha, Fort Snelling, the sailing and fishing on Lakes Min- 
netonka and White Bear, and many other objects of inte- 
rest, which our limits will not allow. One little occurrence 
is worth mentioning ; strolling along Fort street one even- 
ing, in company with several friends, as far as Winslow's 



274 A TOUR. 

Addition, we observed a German family, consisting of five 
persons, seated under a little arbor in the centre of their 
garden, each playing upon some musical instrument. We 
listened with great interest for some time, until the gather- 
ing shades of twilight admonished us to retrace our steps 
homeward, and then requested, at parting, one of their 
favorite airs ; they complied, and played a most beautiful 
and touching German melody. The wife and mother ap- 
peared much affected, and with difficulty finished her part ; 
her thoughts, evidently, were carried to the home of her 
childhood, so far away in the Old Fatherland, 

TOYAGE ON THE ST. CROIX AND BRULE RIVERS TO LAKE 

SUPERIOR. 

One pleasant morning in the month of June, a few friends 
of the author, tempted by the pleasing anticipations of 
hunting and fishing, left St. Paul for the City of Superior, 
by the way of the St. Croix river, preferring this as the 
most romantic route, affording them an opportunity of 
camping out, and ascending this river in canoes. The 
party consisted of seven persons, and, on arrival at the St. 
Croix Falls, found two bark canoes which had been sent 
from the lake to meet them, in charge of four voyageurs. 
The navigation here commenced ; one voyageur, pole in 
hand, stood at each end, and the swiftness of the stream 
required them to exert great strength and dexterity to urge 
the light bark forward. The provisions, baggage, tent, 
and passengers, completely filled the canoes. After leaving 
St. Croix Falls, no houses were seen until Superior came 
in sight; 

The party were ol^liged to camp at night, and landed to 
cook through the day. The Upper St. Croix is a beau- 
tiful stream, in romantic scenery surpassing the Mississippi ; 
it has its source in a lake of considerable size, of the same 



A TOUR. 215 

name. There the company landed, each man carpet-bag 
in hand, to cross the portage, in order to reach the Brule, 
or what is called on the map Burnt Wood, a distance of 
two miles, up hill all the way. The voyageurs carried over 
the canoes and provisions, and launched them again on this 
narrow stream, 800 feet above the waters of Lake Supe- 
rior ; its width at this point is about four feet, but widens 
and becomes more rapid in its descent, until the canoe has 
to be held back by the navigators. This little stream sur- 
passes, if possible, the St. Croix in beauty ; its banks are 
lined with verdure, and the trees and shrubbery in many 
places meeting overhead, form a continuous grove, through 
which the clear water meanders with a gentle murmur. 
Numerous adventures occurred on the route, and many 
porcupines, muskrats, deer, ducks, geese, sturgeon and 
trout were obtained, and after sundry picking, cleaning, 
&c., they at last found the way into the camp kettle, and 
were considered delicacies after living on salt pork. The 
porctipines and the rats, however, were left to the refined 
taste of the voyageurs, who soon made way with them. 

After many exciting incidents, the voyage terminated at 
the City of Superior at 8 o'clock in the morning, having 
started from the last camp at 3 o'clock. The shore of the 
lake resembles the sea-side — sand, with the surf roaring and 
beating on it. When the canoes were upon the lake the 
billows were running at least three feet high., but the little 
vessels being of so light weight, and managed by skilful 
hands, they rode the waves in safety, and reached Superior 
after a twelve days' trip from St. Paul. 

Here they found a large hotel — the Superior House — 
kept by Mr. J. H. Willard, and were delighted with the 
excellent fare and celebrated lake trout. After a few days 
pleasantly spent in this rising city, they embarked on one 
of the floating palaces, and coasted along the north shore 



276 A TOUR. 

of Lake Superior to Isle Royale ; then the steamboat di- 
rected her course towards the opposite shore, and soon 
arrived at the famous copper region, at each port taking 
in quantities of pure ore, both in "masses" and in barrels ; 
thence her course was to the outlet of the lake, passing the 
"Pictured Kocks," against whose front the waves dash in 
storms with a continuous roar ; shortly after doubled White 
Fish Point, and entered the St. Mary's river, passed 
through the far-famed Sault Ste. Marie Canal, and arrived 
at Mackinaw. At this point the party separated ; some 
took steamboat for Chicago, others for Cleveland, and one 
or two the Collingwood boats, and returned to their homes 
via Canada and Niagara. They found the atmosphere of 
Lake Superior perfectly delightful, and its waters, during 
the entire voyage, perfectly calm, with not even a ripple to 
disturb its glassy-like appearance. 



PART III 



APPENDIX. 



CONSTITUTION OF WISCONSIN- STATE GOVERNMENT AND 
INSTITUTIONS -POST-OraCES IN WISCONSIN - LIST OF 
NEWSPAPERS. 



24 (277) 



APPENDIX. 



CONSTITUTION OF WISCONSIN. 



PREAMBLE. 

Wb, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order 
to secure its blessings, form a more perfect goyernment, insure domestic tranciuil* 
lity, and promote the general welfare, do establish this Constitution. 

ARTICLE I. 

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 

Section 1. All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inhe- 
rent rights : among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure 
these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed. 

2. There shall be neithers lavery nor involuntary servitude in this State, other- 
wise than for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted. 

3. Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all sub- 
jects, being responsible for the abuse of that right, and no laws shall be passed to 
restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions 
or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence ; and if it shall appear 
to the jury that the matter charged as libellous be true, and was published with 
good motives, and for justifiable ends, the party shall be aciiuitted; and the jury 
ehall have the right to determine the law and the fact. 

4. The right of the people peaceably to assemble to consult for the common good, 
and to petition the government or any department thereof, shall never be abridged. 

6. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate ; and shall extend to all cases 
at law, without regard to the amount in controversy; but a jury trial may be waived 
by the parties in all cases, in the manner prescribed by law. 

6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor shall excessive fines be imposed, nor 
ehall cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted. 

7. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be heard by 

(278) 



CONSTITUTION. 279 

himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against 
him; to meet the witnesses face to face; to have compulsory process to compel the 
attendance of witnesses in his behalf: and in prosecutions by indictment or infor- 
mation, to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district 
wherein the offence shall have been committed, which county or district shall have 
been previously ascertained by law, 

8. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offence, unless on the present- 
ment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or in cases 
cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in the militia 
when in actual service in time of war or public danger; and no person, for the same 
offence, shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any 
criminal case to be a witness against himself. All persons shall, before conviction, 
be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evi- 
dent, or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended unless when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety 
may require. 

9. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws, for all injuries or 
wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or character; he ought to ob- 
tain justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it; completely and with- 
out denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws. 

10. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against the same, 
or in adhering to its enemies giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, 
or on confession in open court. 

11. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no 
warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

12. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, nor any law impairing the obligation 
of contracts, shall ever be passed ; and no conviction shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture of estate. 

13. The property of no person shall be taken for public use without just compen- 
sation therefor. 

14. All lands within the State are declared to he allodial, and feudal tenures are 
prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural land, for a longer term than fifteen 
years, in which rent or service of any kind shall be reserved, and all fines and like 
restraints upon alienation, reserved in any grant of land, hereafter made, are de- 
clared to be void. 

15. No distinction shall ever be made bylaw between resident aliens and citizens, 
in reference to the possession, enjoyment or descent of property. 

16. No person shall be imprisoned for debt arising out of or founded on a con- 
tract, expressed or implied. 

17. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts of life shall be re- 
cognized by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from 
seizure or sale, for the payment of any debt or liability hereafter contracted. 

18. The right of every man to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of 
his own conscience, shall never be infringed; nor shall any man be compelled to 
attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against 
his consent. Nor shiill any control of. or interference with the rights of conscience 
be permitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious establishments, or 



280 CONSTITUTION. 

modes of vrorship. Nor shall any money be drawn from the treasury for the benefit 
of religious societies, or religious or theological" seminaries. 

19. \o religious tests shall ever be required as a qualification for any ofiRce of pub- 
lic trust, under the State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to give 
evidence in any court of law or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the sub- 
ject of religion. 

20. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. 

21. Writs of error shall never be prohibited by law. 

22. The blessings of a free government can only be maintained by a firm adhe- 
rence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent 
recurrence to fundamental principles. 

ARTICLE II. 

BOUNDARIES. 

Section 1. It is hereby ordained and declared that the State of Wisconsin doth 
consent and accept of the boundaries prescribed in the act of Congress entitled "An 
Act to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and State 
government, and for the admission of such State into the Union," approved August 
sixth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, to wit: Beginning at the north-east 
corner of the State of Illinois, that is to say, at a point in the centre of Lake Michi- 
gan, where the line of forty-two degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude crossea 
the same ; thence, running with the boundary line of the State of Michigan, through 
Lake Michigan, Green Bay, to the mouth of Menomonee river ; thence up the chan- 
nel of the said river to the Brule river; thence up said last-mentioned river to Lake 
Brule; thence along the southern shore of Lake Brule, in a direct line to the centre 
of the channel between Middle and South island, in the Lake of the Desert; thence 
in a direct line to the head waters of the Montreal river, as marked upon the sur- 
vey made by Captain Cram ; thence down the main channel of the Montreal river 
to the middle of Lake Superior; thence through the centre of Lake Superior to the 
mouth of the St. Louis river; thence up the main channel of said river, to the first 
rapids in the same, above the Indian village, according to Nicollet's map ; thence 
due south to the main branch of the river St. Croix ; thence down the main channel 
of said river to the Mississippi; thence down the centre of the main channel of that 
river to the north-west corner of the State of Illinois; thence due east with the 
northern boundary of the State of Illinois, to the place of beginning, as established 
by "An Act to enable the people of the Illinois territory to form a Constitution and 
State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal 
footing with the original States," approved April eighteenth, one thousand eight 
hundred and eighteen. Provided, however, That the following alteration of the 
aforesaid boundary be, and hereby is, proposed to the Congress of the United States 
as the preference of the State of Wisconsin ; and if the same shall be assented and 
agreed to by the Congress of the United States, then the same shall be and forever 
remain obligatory on the State of Wisconsin, viz. : Leaving the aforesaid boundary 
line at the foot of the rapids of St. Louis river; thence in a direct line, bearing 
Bouth-westerly to the mouth of the Iskodewabo, or Rum river, where the same 
empties into the Mississippi river; thence down the main channel of the said Mis- 
sippi river, as prescribed in the aforesaid boundary. 

2. The propositions contained in the Act of Congress are hereby accepted, ratified 
and confirmed, and shall remain irrevocable without the consent of the United 
States; and it is hereby ordained that this State shall never interfere with the pri- 



CONSTITUTION. 281 

mary disposal of the soil -within the same by the United States, nor with any regu- 
lations Congress may find necessary for secaring the title in such soil to bona fidt 
purchasers thereof; and no tax shall he imposed on land, the property of the United 
States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. 
J^ovided, That nothing in this Constitution, or in the Act of Congress aforesaid, 
shall in any manner prejudice or affect the right of the State of Wisconsin to five 
hundred thousand acres of land granted to said State, and to be hereafter selected 
and located, by, and under the Act of Congress, entitled "An Act to appropriate the 
proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and grant preemption rights," approved 
September fourth, one thousand eight hundred and forty-one. 

AETICLE III. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Section 1. Every male person, of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, belong- 
ing to either of the following classes, who shall have resided in the State for one 
year next preceding any election, shall be deemed a qualified elector at such election: 

First. White citizens of the United States. 

Second. White persons, of foreign birth, who shall have declared their intention 
to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of 
naturalization. 

Third. Persons of Indian blood, who have once been declared, by law of Congress, 
to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law of Congress to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 

F^)urth. Civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. Provided, 
That the Legislature may at any time extend, by law, the right of suffrage to per- 
sons not herein enumerated; but no such law shall be in force until the same shall 
have been submitted to a vote of the people at a general election, and approved by 
a majority of all the votes cast at such election. 

2. No person under guardianship, non compos mentis, or insane, shall be quali- 
fied to vote at any election; nor shall any person convicted of treason or felony be 
qualified to vote at any election, unless restored to civil rights. 

3. All votes shall be given by ballot, except for such township officers as may, by 
law, be directed or allowed to be otherwise chosen. 

4. No person shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this State by reason of 
his absence on business of the United States, or of this State. 

5. No soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States, shall 
be deemed a resident of this State in consequence of being stationed within the 
same. 

6. Laws may be passed excluding from the right of suffrage all persons who have 
been, or may be, convicted of bribery or larceny, or of any infamous crime; and de- 
priving every person who shall make, or become directly or indirectly interested in 
any bet or wager depending upon the result of any election, from the right to vote 
at such election. 

ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE. 

Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly. 

2. The number of the members of the Assembly sliall never be less than fifty-four, 
nor more than one hundred. The Senate shall consist of a number not more than 
one-third, nor less thau one-fourth of the number of the members of the Assembly. 
24* 



282 CONSTITUTION. 

8. The Legislature shall provide by law for an enumeration of the inhabitants 
cf the State, ia the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and at the end 
of every ten years thereafter; and at their first session after such enumeration, and 
also after each enumeration made by the authority of the United States, the Legis- 
lature shall apportion and district anew the members of the Senate and Assembly, 
according to the number of inhabitants, excluding Indians not taxed, and soldiers 
and officers of the United States army and navy. 

4. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen annually by single districts, on 
the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, by the qualified electors of 
the several districts ; such districts to be bounded by county, precinct, town, or 
ward lines, to consist of contiguous territory, and be in as compact form as practi- 
cable. 

5. The Senators shall be chosen by single districts of convenient contiguous ter- 
ritory, at the same time and in the same manner as members of the Assembly are 
required to be chosen ; and no Assembly district shall be divided in the formation 
of a Senate district. The Senate districts shall be numbered in regular series, and 
the Senators chosen by the odd-numbered districts shall go out of office at the expi- 
ration of the first year, and the Senators chosen by the even-numbered districts 
shall go out of office at the expiration of the second year, and thereafter the Sena- 
tors shall be chosen for the term of two years. 

6. No person shall be eligible to the Legislature who shall not have resided one 
year within the State, and be a qualified elector in the district which he may bo 
chosen to represent. 

7. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of 
its own members, and a majorit}' of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attend- 
ance of absent members in such manner, and under such penalties, as each Uousu 
may provide. 

8. Each House may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish for con- 
tempt and disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the 
members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time 
for the same cause. 

9. Each House shall choose its own officers, and the Senate shall choose a tempo 
rary President, when the Lieutenant-Governor shall not attend as President, or 
shall act as Governor. 

10. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same, ex- 
cept such parts as reijuire secresy. The (V)ors of each House shall be kept open, 
except when the public welfare shall require secresy. Neither House shall, without 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days. 

11. The Legislature shall meet at the seat of government, at such time as shall 
be provided by law, once in each year, and not oftener, unless convened by the 
Governor. 

12. No member of the Legislature shall, during the term for which he was elected, 
be appointed or elected to any civil office in the State, which shall have been created, 
or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during the term for which 
he was elected. 

13. No person being a member of Congress, or holding any military or civil office 
under the United States, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature ; and if any 
person shall, after his election as a member of the Legislature, be elected to Con- 
gress, or be appointed to any office, civil or military, under the Government of the 
United Slates, his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat. 



CONSTITUTION. 21^3 

14. The Governor shall issue writs of elcctioia fo fill such vacancies as may occur 
in either House of the Legislature. 

15. Members of the Legishiture shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest; nor shall they be subject to any civil 
process during the session of the Legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the 
commencement, and after the termination of each session. 

16. No member of the Legislature shall be liable, in any civil action or criminal 
prosecution whatever, for words spoken in debate. 

17. The style of the laws of the State shall be, "The people of the State of Wis- 
consin represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows :" and no law shall 
be enacted except by bill. 

18. No private or local bill, which maybe passed by the Legislature, shall embrace 
more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title. 

19. Any bill may originate in either House of the Legislature, and a bill passed 
by one House may be amended by the other. 

20. The yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any question, shall, at 
the re(iuest of one-sixth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

21. Each member of the Legislature shall receive for his services, two dollars and 
fifty cents for each day's attendance during the session, and ten cents for every mile 
he shall travel in going to and returning from the place of the meeting of the Legis- 
lature, on the most usual route. 

22. The Legislature may confer upon the boards of supervisors of the several 
counties of the State, svich powers of a local, legislative, and administrative charac- 
ter as they shall from time to time prescribe. 

23. The Legislature shall establish but one system of town and county govern- 
ment, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable. 

24. The Legislature shall never authorise any lottery, or grant any divorce. 

26. The Legislature shall provide by law that all stationery required for the use 
of the State, and all printing authorised and required by them to be done for their 
use, or for the State, shall be let by contract to the lowest bidder; but the Legisla- 
ture may establish a maximum price. No member of the Legislature, or other State 
officer, shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any such contract. 

26. The Legislature shall never grant any extra compensation to any public offi- 
cer, agent, servant, or contractor, after the services shall have been rendered or the 
contract entered into. Nor shall the compensation of any public officer be increased 
or diminished during his term of office. 

27. The Legislature shall direct by law in what manner, and in what courts, suits 
may be brought against the State. 

28. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, except 
Buch inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter upon the 
duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support 
the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Wiscon- 
sin, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices to the best of 
their ability. 

29. The Legislature shall determine what persons shall constitute the militia of 
the State, and may provide for organizing and disciplining the same, in such man- 
ner as shall be prescribed by law. 

30. In all elections to be made by the Legislature, the members thereof shall vote 
viva voce, and their votes shall be entered on the journal. 



284 CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE V. 
DXECVTTVZ. 

Section 1. The executive power shall he vested in a Governor, wko shall hold hia 
office for two years. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the same time, and 
for the same term. 

2. No person, except a citizen of the United States, and a qualified elector of th^ 
State, shall be eligible to the office of Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor. 

3. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected by the qualified elec- 
tors of the State, at the times and places of choosing members of the Legislature. 
The persons respectively having the highest number of votes for Governor and Lieu- 
tenant Governor, shall be elected. But in case two or more shall have an equal 
and the highest number of votes for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, the two 
Houses of the Legislature, at its next annual session, shall forthwith, by joint 
ballot, choose one of the persons so having an equal and the highest number of 
votes for Governor or Lieutenant-Governor. The returns of election for Gover- 
nor and Lieutenant-Governor shall be made in such manner as shall be provided 
by law. 

4. The Governor shall be Commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of 
the State. He shall have power to convene the Legislature on extraordinary occa- 
sions ; and in case of invasion, or danger from the prevalence of contagions disease 
at the seat of government, he may convene them at any other suitable place within 
the State. He shall communicate to the Legislature, at every session, the condition 
of the State, and recommend such matters to them for their consideration, as he 
may deem expedient. He shall transact all necessary business with the officers of 
the Government, civil and military. He shall expedite all such mea-sures as may 
be resolved upon by the Legislature, and shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed. 

5. The Governor shall receive, during his continuance in office, an annual com- 
pensation of one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. 

6. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, 
after conviction, for all offences except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such 
conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may think proper, sub- 
ject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of apply- 
ino- for pardons. Upon conviction for treason, he shall have the power to suspend 
the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the Legislature at 
its next meeting, when the Legislature shall either pardon, or commute the sen- 
tence, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall 
annually communicate to the Legislature each case of reprieve, commutation, or 
pardon granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he was con- 
victed, the sentence and its date, and the date of the commutation, pardon, or re- 
prieve, with his reasons for granting the same. 

7. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, or his removal from office, death, 
inability from mental or physical disease, resignation, or absence from the State, the 
powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor, for the 
residue of the term, or until the Governor, absent or impeached, shall have returned, 
or the disability shall cease. But when the Governor shall, with the consent of 
the Legislature, be out of the State in time of war, at the head of the military 
force thereof, he shall cx)ntinue Commander-in-chief of the military force of the 
State. 



CONSTITUTION. 285 

8. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be President of the Senate, hut shall have only 
a casting vote therein. If, during a vacancy in the office of Governor, the Lieute- 
nant-Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or from mental or physi- 
cal disease become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or be absent from 
the State, the Secretary of State shall act as Governor until the vacancy shall be 
filled, or the disability shall cease. 

9. The Lieutenant-Governor shall receive double the per diem allowance of mem- 
bers of the Senate, for every day's attendance as President of the Senate, and the 
same mileage as shall be allowed to members of the Legislature. 

10. Every bill which shall have passed the Legislature shall, before it becomes a 
law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he 
shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it shall have origiuated, 
who shall enter the objections at large upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider 
it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members present shall a^ree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by 
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present, it shall become a law. But in all such cases, the votes of both Houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for 
or against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within three days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, unless 
the Legislature shall, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in v/hich case it 
shall not be a law. 

ARTICLE VI 

ADMINISTRATIVE. 

Section 1. There shall be chosen, by the qualified electors of the State, at the 
times and places of choosing the members of the Legislature, a Secretary of State 
Treasurer, and an Attorney-General, who shall severally hold their offices for the 
term of two years. 

2. The Secretary of State shall keep a fair record of the official acts of the Legisla- 
ture and Executive Department of the State, and shall, when required, lay the same 
and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature. He shall 
he tx officio auditor, and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned him 
by law. He shall receive, as a compensation for his services, yearly, such sum as 
shall be provided by law, and shall keep his office at the seat of government. 

3^. The powers, duties, and compensation of the Treasurer and Attorney-General 
shall be prescribed by law. 

4. Sheriffs, coroners, registers of deeds, and district attorneys shall be chosen by 
the electors of the respective counties, once in every two years, and as often as va- 
cancies shall happen. Sheriffs shall hold no other office, and be ineligible for two 
years next succeeding the termination of their offices. They may be required by 
law to renew their security from time to time ; and in deftiult of giving such new 
security, their offices shall be deemed vacant. But the county shall never be made 
responsible for the acts of the sheriff. The Governor may remove any oflicor in this 
section mentioned, giving to such officer a copy of the charges against him, and an 
opportunity of being heard in his defence. 



286 CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE VII. 

JUDICIARY. 

Section 1. The court for the trial of impeachments shall he composed of the Senate. 
The House of Representatives shall have the power of impeaching all civil officers of 
this State, for corrupt conduct in oifice, or for crimes and misdemeanors; but a majo- 
rity of all the members elected shall concur in an impeachment. On the trial of an 
impeachment against the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall not act as a mem- 
ber of the court. No judicial officer shall exercise his office after he shall have been 
impeached, until his acquittal. Before the trial of an impeachment, the members 
of the court shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try the im- 
peachment, according to evidence; and no person shall be convicted without the 
concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeach- 
ment shall not extend further than to removal from office, or removal from office 
and disqualification to hold any office of honor, profit, or trust, under the State ; 
hut the party impeached shall be liable to indictment, trial, and punishm'^nt, ac- 
cording to law. 

2. The j udicial power of this State, both as to matters of law and equity, shall be 
vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, Courts of Probate, and Justices of the 
Peace. The Legislature may also vest such jurisdiction as shall be deemed neces- 
sary in municipal courts, and shall have power to establish inferior courts in the 
several counties, with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. Provided, That the 
jurisdiction which may be vested in municipal courts shall not exceed, in thsir re- 
spective municipalities, that of Circuit Courts, in their respective circuits, as pre- 
scribed in this Constitution: and that the Legislature shall provide as well for the 
election of judges of the municipal courts as of the judges of inferior courts, by the 
qualified electors of the respective jurisdictions. The term of office of the judges of 
the said municipal and inferior courts shall not be longer than that of the judges 
of the Circuit Court. 

3. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise provided in this Constitution, 
shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be coextensive with the State; 
hut in no case removed to the Supreme Court, shall a trial by jury be allowed. The 
Supreme Court shall have a general superintending control over all inferior courts; 
it shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, quo war- 
ranto, certiorari, and other original and remedial writs, and to hear and determine 
the same. 

4. For the term of five years, and thereafter until the Legislature shall otherwise 
provide, the judges of the several Circuit Courts shall be judges of the Supreme 
Court, four of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority 
of the judges present shall be necessary to a decision. The Legislature shall have 
power, if they should think it expedient and necessary, to provide by law for the 
organization of a separate Supreme Court, with the jurisdiction and powers pre- 
scribed in this Constitution, to consist of one chief justice and two associate justices, 
to be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at such time and in such manner 
as the Legislature may provide. The separate Supreme Court, when so organized, 
shall not be changed or discontinued by the Legislature; the judges thereof shall 
be so classified that but one of them shall go out of office at the same time; and 
their term of office shall be the same as is provided for the judges of the Circuit 
Court. And v.'henever the Legislature may consider it necessary to establish a sepa- 
rate Supreme Court, they shall have power to reduce the number of Circuit Court 



CONSTITUTION. 287 

judges to four, and subdivide the judicial circuits; but no such subdivision or re- 
duction shall tiike effect until after the expiration of the term of some one of the 
said judges, or till a vacancy occur by some other means. 

5. The State shall be divided into five judicial circuits, to be composed as follows : 
The first circuit shall comprise the counties of Racine, Walworth, Rock, and Green. 
The second circuit, the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, and Dane. The 
third circuit, the counties of Washington, Dodge, Columbia, Marquette, Sauk, and 
Portage. The fourth circuit, the counties of Brown, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Fond 
du Lac, Winnebago, and Calumet. And the fifth circuit shall comprise the coun- 
ties of Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Crawford, and St. Croix ; and the county of Rich- 
land shall be attached to Iowa, the county of Chippewa to the county of Crawford, 
and the county of La Pointe to the county of St. Croix, for judicial purposes, until 
otherwise provided by the Legislature. 

6. The Legislature may alter the limits, or increase the number of circuits, making 
them as compact and convenient as practicable, and bounding them by county 
lines; but no- such alteration or increase shall have the effect to remove a judge 
from office. In case of an increase of circuits, the judge or judges shall be elected as 
provided in this Constitution, and receive a salary not less than that herein pro- 
vided for j udges of the Circuit Court. -■» 

7. For each circuit there shall be a judge chosen by the qualified electors therein, 
who shall hold his office as is provided in this Constitution, and until his successor 
shall be chosen and qualified ; and after he shall have been elected, he shall reside 
in the circuit for which he was elected. One of said judges shall be designated as 
chief justice, in such manner as the Legislature shall provide. And the Legisla- 
ture shall, at its first session, provide by law, as well for the election of, as for clas- 
sifying the judges of the Circuit Court, to be elected under this Constitution, in 
such manner that one of said judges shall go out of office in two years, one in three 
years, one in four years, one in five years, and one in six years; and thereafter the 
judge elected to fill the office shall hold the same for six years. 

8. The Circuit Courts shall have original jurisdiction in all matters, civil and 
criminal, within this State, not excepted in this Constitution, and not hereafter pro- 
hibited by law, an appellate jurisdiction from all inferior courts and tribunals, and 
a supervisory control over the same. They shall also have the power to issue writs 
of habeas corpus, mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and all other 
writs necessary to carry into effect their orders, judgments, and decrees, and give 
them a general control over inferior courts and jurisdictions. 

9. When a vacancy shall happen in the office of judge of the Supreme or Circuit 
Courts, such vacancy shall be filled by an appointment of the Governor, which shall 
continue until a successor is elected and qualified; and when elected, such successor 
shall hold his office the residue of the unexpired term. There shall be no election 
for a judge or judges at any general election for State or county officers, nor within 
thirty days either before or after such election. 

10. Each of the judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts shall receive a salary, 
payable quarterly, of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars annually ; 
they shall receive no fees of office, or other compensation than their salaries ; they 
shall hold no office of public trust, except a judicial office, during the term for which 
they are respectively elected ; and all votes for either of them, for any office except a 
judicial office, given by the Legislature or the people, shall be void. No person shall 
be eligible to the office of judge, who shall not, at the time of his election, be a citizen 
of the United States, and have attained the age of twenty-five years, and be a quali- 
fied elector within the jurisdiction for which he may be chosen. 



288 CONSTITUTION. 

11. The Supreme Court shall hold at least one term annually, at the seat of gov- 
ernment of the State, at such time as shall be provided by law; and the Legislature 
may provide for holding other terms, and at other places, when they may deem it 
necessary. A Circuit Court shall be held at least twice in each year, in each county 
of this State, organized for judicial purposes. The judges of the Circuit Court may 
hold courts for each other, and shall do so when required by law. 

12. There shall be a clerk of the Circuit Court chosen in each county organized 
for judicial purposes, by the qualified electors thereof, who shall hold his office for 
two years, subject to removal as shall be provided by law. In case of a vacancy, the 
j udge of the Circuit Court shall have the power to appoint a clerk, until the va- 
cancy shall be filled by an election. The clerk thus elected or appointed, shall give 
such security as the Legislature may require; and when elected, shall hold his office 
for a full term. The Supreme Court shall appoint its own clerk ; and the clerk of 
a Circuit Court may be appointed clerk of the Supreme Court. 

13. Any judge of the Supreme or Circuit Court may be removed from office by 
address of both Houses of the Legislature, if two-thirds of all the members elected 
to each House concur therein; but no removal shall be made by virtue of this sec- 
tion, unless the judge complained of shall have been served with a copy of the 
charges against him, as the ground of address, and shall have had an opportunity 
of being heard in his defence. On the question of removal, the ayes and noes shall 
be entered on the journals. 

14. There shall be chosen in each county, by the qualified electors thereof, a judge 
of probate, who shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor shall be 
elected and qualified, and whose jurisdiction, powers and duties shall be prescribed 
by law : Provided, however, That the Legislature shall have power to abolish the 
office of judge of probate in any county, and to confer probate powers upon such 
inferior courts as may be established in said county. 

15. The electors of the several towns, at their annual town meetings, and the 
electors of cities and villages, at their charter elections, shall, in such manner as the 
Legislature may direct, elect justices of the peace, whose term of office shall be for 
two years, and until their successors in office shall be elected and qualified. In 
case of an election to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of a full term, 
the justice elected shall hold for the residue of the unexpired term. Their number 
and classification shall be regulated by law. And the tenure of two y«ars shall in 
no wise interfere with the classification in the first instance. The justices thus 
elected shall have such civil and criminal jurisdiction &a Bhall be prescribed by 
law. 

16. The Legislature shall pass laws for the regulation of tribunals of conciliation, 
defining their powers and duties. Such tribunals may be established in and for 
any township, and shall have power to render judgment, to be obligatory on the 
parties, when they shall voluntarily submit their matter in difference to arbitra- 
tion, and agree to abide the judgment, or assent thereto in writing. 

17. The style of all writs and process shall be, " The State of Wisconsin." All 
criminal prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the 
same; and all indictments shall conclude against the peace and dignity of the 
State. 

18. The Legislature shall impose a tax on all civil suits commenced or prosecuted 
in the municipal, inferior, or Circuit Courts, which shall constitute a funJ to be 
applied toward the payment of the salary of judges. 

19. The testimony in causes in equity shall be taken in like manner as in cases at 
law ; and the office of master in chancery is hereby prohibited. 



CONSTITUTION. 289 

20. Any suitor in any court of this State shall have the right to prosecute or de- 
fend his suit either iu his own proi^er person, or by an attorney or agent of his 
choice. 

•21. The Legislature shall provide by law for the speedy publication of all statute 
laws, and of such judicial decisions made within the State, as may be deemed expe- 
dient. And no general law shall be in force until published. 

2± The Legislature, at its first session after the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall provide for the appointment of three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to 
inquire into, revise and simplify the rules of practice, pleadings, forms, and proceed- 
ings, and arrange a system adapted to the courts of record of this State, and report 
the same to the Legislature, subject to their modification and adoption ; and such 
commission shall terminate upon the rendering of the report, unless otherwise pro- 
vided by law. 

23. The Legislature may provide for the appointment of one or more persons in 
each organiz-ed county, and may vest in such persons such judicial powers as shall 
be prescribed by law : Pfovided, That said power shall not exceed that of a judge of 
the Circuit Court at Chambers. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

FINANCE. 

Section 1. The rule of taxation shall be uniform, and taxes shall be levied upon 
guch property as the Legislature shall prescribe. 

2. No money shall be paid out of the treasury, except in pursuance of an appro- 
priation by law. 

3. The credit of the State shall never he given or loaned in aid of any individual, 
association, or corporation. 

4. The State shall never contract any public debt, except in the cases and manner 
herein provided. 

5. The Legislature shall provide for an annual tax sufficient to defray the esti- 
mated expenses of the State for each year; and whenever the expenses of any year 
Bhall exceed the income, the Legislature shall provide for levying a tax for the ensu- 
ing year, sufficient, v/ith other sources of income, to pay the deficiency, as well as 
the estimated expenses of such ensuing year. 

6. For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenditures, the State may con- 
tract public debts ; but such debts shall never, in the aggregate, exceed one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. Every such debt shall be authorized by law, for some pur- 
pose or purposes to be distinctly specified therein; and the vote of a majority of all 
the members elected to each House, to he taken by yeas and nays, shall be neces- 
sary to the passage of such law; and every such law shall provide for levying an 
annual tax sufficient to pay the annual interest of such debt, and the principal 
•within five years from the passage of such law, and shall specially appropriate the 
proceeds of such taxes to the payment of such principal and interest; and such ap- 
propriation shall not be repealed, nor the taxes he postponed or diminished, until 
the principal and interest of such debt shall have been wholly paid. 

7. The Legislature may also borrow money to repel invasion, suppress insurrec- 
tion, or defend the State in time of war; but the money thus raised shall be applied 
exclusively to the object for which the loan was authorized, or to the repayment of 
the debt thereby created. 

8. On the passage, in either House of the Legislature, of any law which imposes, 

25 



293 CONSTITUTION. 

eontinue«, or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or malies, fontinues, or re- 
news an appropriatkm of public or trust money, or releases, dischargeg, or eom- 
mutes a claim or demand of the State, the question shall be taken by yeas and 
nays, which shall be duly entered on the journal ; and three-fifths of all the mem- 
bers elected to such House shall, in all such cases, be required to constitute a quo- 
rum therein. 

9, No scrip, certificate, or other evidence of State debt whatsoever, shall be issued, 
except for euch debts as are authorized by the sixth and seventh sections of thja 
article. 

10. The State shall never contract any debt for works of internal improvement, 
or be a party in carrying on such works; but whenever grants of land or other 
property shall have been made to the State, eepocially dedicated by the grant to 
particular works of internal improvement, the State may carry on such particular 
•works, and shall devote thereto the avails of such j^rants, and may plevlge or appro- 
priate the revenues derived from such wc«:ks in aid of their completion, 

4RTICLE IX. 

EMINENT DOMAIN ANI> PROPERTY OF THE STATE, 

Section 1. The State shall have concvirrent jurisdiction on all rivers and lakes 
bordering on this State, so for as such rivers or lakes shall form a common boun- 
dary to the State, and any ather State or Territory now or hereafter to be formed 
and bounded by the same. And the river Mississippi and the navigable waters lead- 
ing into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the 
same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the 
State, as to the citizens of the United States, without anj tax, impost, or duty 
therefor. 

2. The title to all lands and other property which have accrued to the Territory 
of Wisconsin, by grant, gift, purchase, forfeiture, escheat, or otherwise, shall vest 
in the State of Wisconsin. 

3. The people of the State, in their right of sovereignty, are declared to possess 
the ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of the State; and 
all lands, the title to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert or escheat 
to the people. 

ARTICLE X. 



Sectio'N 1. The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a State Super- 
intenilent, and such other officers as the Legislature shall direct. The State Super- 
intendent shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the State, in such manner as 
the Legislature shall provide; his powers, duties, and compensation shall be pre- 
scribed by law. Provided, That his compensation shall not exceed tlie sum of twelve 
hundred dollars annually. 

2. The proceeds of ail lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the 
United States to this State, for educational purposes (except the lands heretofore 
granted for the purposes of a university), and all moneys and the clear proceeds of 
all property that may accrue to the State by forfeiture or escheat, and all moneys 
■which may be paid as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, and the 
dear proceeds of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of tho 



CONSTITUTION. 291 

penal laws, and all monej's arising from any grant to tbe State, where the purposes 
of such srant are not specified, and the five hundred thousand acres of land to which 
the StMt'e is eniitled hy the provisions of an Act of Conu'ress entitled '-An Act to ap- 
propriate the proceeds of the saks of the public lands, and to grant pre-eniptioa 
rJi;hts7' approver! the fourth day of September, one thousand ei-hit hundred and 
forty-one, and also the five per centum of the nett proceeds of tl.a public huids to 
whiih the State shall become entitled on her admission into the Union (if Congress 
shall consent to such appropriation of the two grants last mentioned), shall be set 
kpart as a separate fund, to be called the school fund, the iuterest of which, and all 
other revenues derived from the school lauds, shall be exclusively applied to the fol- 
lowing objects, to wit: 

First. To the support and maintenance of common sehools, in each school dii?- 
trict, and the purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. 

Second. The residue shall be appropriated to the support and maintenance of 
academies and normal schools, and suitable libraries and apparatus therefor. 

3. The Legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, 
which shain.e as nearly uniform as practicable: and such schools shall be free and 
without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of four and tweuty 
years, and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein. 

4. Each town and city shall be required to raise by tax. annually, for the support 
of common schools therein, a sum not less than one-half the amount received 
by such town or city respectively tor school purposes, from the income of the school 

fund. 

5s Provision shall be made by law for the distribution of the income of the school 
fund among the several towns and cities of the State, for the support of common 
schools thei'ein, in some just proportion to the number of children and youth resi- 
deut therein, between the ages of four and tweuty years; and no appropriation 
shall be made from the school fund to any city or town, for the year in which said 
city or town shall fail to raise such tax, nor to any school district for the year ia 
which a school shall not be maintained at least three months. 

6. Provision shall be made by law for the establishment of a State university, at 
or near the seat of State Government, and for connecting with the same, from time 
to time such colleges, in different parts of the State, as the interests of education 
may require The proceeds of all lands that have been or may hereafter be granted 
by the United States to the State for the support of a university shall be and re- 
main a perpetual fund, to be called the "university fund." the interest of which 
shall be appropriated to the support of the State university, and no sectarian in- 
struction shall be allowed in such university. 

7 The Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Attorney-General shall constitute a 
toard of commissioners for the sale of the school and university lands, and for the 
investment of the funds arising therefrom. Any two of said commissioners 
shall be a quorum for the transaction of all business pertaining to the duties of 

' rplovT^'ion shall be made by law for the sale of all school and university lands, 
after they ehall have been appraised; and when any portion of such lands shall be 
gold and the purchase-money shall not be paid at the time of the sale, the com- 
missioners shall take security by mortgage upon the land sold ^r the sum remain^ 
in- unpaid, with seven per cent, interest thereon, payable annually at the office of 
the Treasurer. The commissioners shall be authorized to execute a good and suffi- 
cient conveyance to all purchasers of such lands, and to discbarge any moitgages 



292 CONSTITUTION. 

taken as security, •when the sum due thereon shall have heen paid. The commis- 
sioners shall have power to withhold from sale any portion of such lands when 
they shall deem it expedient, and shall invest all moneys arising from the sale of 
8uch lands, as well as all other university and school funds, in such manner as the 
Legislature shall provide, and shall give such security for the faithful performance 
of their duties as may be required by law. 

ARTICLE XI. 

CORPORATIONS. 

Section 1. Corporations without hanking powers or privileges may be formed 
tinder general laws, but shall not be created by special act. except for municipal 
purposes, and in cases where, in the judgment of the Leiiislature, the objects of the 
corporation cannot be attained under general laws. All general laws or special acts 
enacted under the provisions of this section may be altered or repealed by the Legis- 
lature at any time after their passage. 

2. No municipal corporation shall take private property for public use against 
the consent of the owner, without the necessity th^ireof being first established by 
the verdict of a jury. 

3. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, and they are hereby empowered to pro- 
vide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their 
power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning 
their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and. taxation, and in contract- 
ing debts by such municipal corporations. 

4. Th(j Legislature shall not have power to create, authorize, or incorporate, by 
any general or special law, any bank or banking power or privilege, or any institu- 
tion or corporation, having any banking power or privilege whatever, except as pro- 
Tided in this article. 

5. The Legislature may submit to the voters, at any general election, the ques- 
tion of " bank or no bank ;" and if, at any such election, a number of votes equal 
to a majority of all the votes cast at such election on that subject shall be in favor 
of banks, then the Legislature shall have power to grant bank charters, or to pass a 
general banking law, with such restrictions, and under such regulations, as they 
may deem expedient and proper for the security of the bill-holders : Provided, That 
DO such grant or law shall have any force or effect until the same shall have been 
submitted to a vote of the electors of the State at some general election, and been 
approved by a majority of the votes cast on that subject at such election. 

ARTICLE XII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed 
in either House of the Legislature, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority 
of the members elected to each of the two Houses, such proposed amendment or 
amendments shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken 
thereon, and referred to the Legislature to be chosen at the next general election, 
and .shall be published for three months previous to the time of holding such elec- 
tion. And if, in the Legislature so next chosen, such proposed amendment or 



CONSTITUTION. 293 

ametidments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each 
House, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such proposed amend- 
ment or amendments to the people, in such manner and at su(^h time as the Legis- 
lature shall prescribe; and if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment 
or amendments by a majoritj' of the electors voting thereon, such amendment or 
amendments shall become part of the Constitution : Provided^ That if more than one 
amendment be submitted, they shall be subiuitted in such manuer that the people 
may vote for oragaiust such amendments separately. 

2. If at any time a majority of the Senate and Assembly shall deem it neces- 
sary to call a convention to revise or change this Constitution, they shall recom- 
mend to the electors to vote for or against a convention at the next election for 
members of the Legislature; and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors 
voting thereon have voted for a convention, the Legislature shall, at its next ses- 
sion, provide for calling such convention. 



ARTICLE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

Section 1. The political year for the State of Wisconsin shall commence on the 
first Monday in January in each year, and the general election shall be holden ou 
the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November in each year. 

2. Any inhabitant of this State who may hereafter be engaged, either directly or 
indirectly, in a duel, either as principal or accessary, shall forever be disqualified 
as an elector, and from holding any office under the Constitution and laws of 
this State, and may be punished in such other manner as shall be prescribed by 
law, 

3. No member of Congress, nor any person holding any office of profit or trust 
under the United States (postmasters excepted), or under any foreign power; no 
person convicted of any infamous crime in any court within the United States, and 
no person being a defaulter to the United States, or to this State, or to any county 
or town therein, or to any State or Territory within the United States, shall be 
eligible to any office of trust, profit, or honor in this State. 

4. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide a great seal for the State, 
■which shall be kept by the Secretary of State; and all official acts of the Governor, 
his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated. 

6. All persons residing upon Indian lands within any county of the State, and 
qualified to exercise the right of suffra;;e under this Constitution, shall be entitled 
to vote at the polls which may be held nearest their residence, for State, United 
States, or county officers : Provided, That no person shall vote for county officers 
out of the county in which he resides. 

6. The elective officers of the Legislature, other than the presiding officers, shall 
be a chief clerk, and a sergeant-at-arms, to be elected by each House 

7. No county with an area of nine hundred square miles or less, shall be divided, 
or have any part stricken therefrom, without submitting the question to a vote of 
the people of the county, nor unless a majority of all the legal voters of the county 
voting on the question, shall vote for the same. 

8. No county seat shall be removed until the point to which it is proposed to be 
removed shall be fixed by law, and a majority of the voters of the county, voting 
on the question, shall have voted in favor of its removal to such point. 

25* 



294 CONSTITUTION. 

9. All county officers whose election or appointment is not proviaed for by this 
Constitution, shall be elected by the electors of the respective counties, or appointed 
by the boards of supervisors or other county authorities, as the Legislature shall 
ciirect. All city, town, and village officers, whose election or appointment is not 
provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors of such cities, 
towns, and villages, or of some division thereof, or appointed by such authorities 
thereof, as the Legislature shall designate for that purpose. All other officers whose 
election or appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, and all officers 
Tvhose offices may hereafter be created by law, shall be elected by the people, or ap- 
pointed as the Legislature may direct. 

10. The Legislature may declare the cases in which any office shall be deemed 
vacant, and also the manner of filling the vacancy where uo provision is made for 
that purpose, in this Constitution. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

SCHEDULE. 

Section 1. That no inconvenience may arise by reason of a change from a territo- 
rial to a permanent State Government, it is declared that all rights, actions, prose- 
cutions, judgments, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies corpo- 
rate, shall continue as if no such change had taken place; and all process which 
may be issued under the authority of the Territory of Wisconsin, previous to its 
admission into the Union of the United States, shall be as valid as if issued in the 
name of the State. 

2. All laws now in force in the territory of Wisconsin, which are not repugnant 
to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limita- 
tion, or be altered or repealed by the Legislature. 

3. All fines, penalties, or forfeitures accruing to the Territory of Wisconsin, shall 
enure to the use of the State. 

4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the change 
from a Territorial to a permanent State Government, shall remain valid, and shall 
pass to, and may be prosecuted in the name of the State; and all bonds executed to 
the Governor of the Territory, or to any other officer or court, in his or their offi- 
cial capacity, shall pass to the Governor or the State authority, and their succes- 
eors in office, for the uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and 
recovered accordingly ; and all the estate or property, real, personal, or mixed, and 
all judgments, bonds, specialities, choses in action, and claims or debts of whatso- 
ever description, of the Territory of Wisconsin, shall enure to and vest in the State 
of Wisconsin, and may be sued for and recovered in the same manner, and to the 
same extent, by the State of Wisconsin, as the same could have been by the Terri- 
tory of Wisconsin. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which may have 
arisen, or which may arise before the change from a Territorial to a State Govern- 
ment, and which shall then be pending, shall be prosecuted to judgment and execu- 
tion in the name of the State. All offences committed against the laws of the Ter- 
ritory of Wisconsin, before the change from a Territorial to a State Government, 
and which shiiU not be prosecuted before such change, may be prosecuted in the 
name and by the authority of the State of Wisconsin, with like effect as though 
Buch change had not taken place; and all penalties incurred shall remain the same 
as if this Coustitution had not been adopted. All actions at law, and suits in equity, 



CONSTITUTION. 205 

■which may be pcndnig in any of the courts of the Territory of Wisconsin, at the 
lime of the change from a Territorial to a State Government, may be continued and 
transferred to any court of the State which shall have jurisdiction of the subject 
matter thereof. 

5. All officers, civil and military, now holding their offices under the authority 
of the United States, or of the Territory of Wisconsin, shall continue to hold and 
exercise their respective ofiaces until they shall be superseded by the authority of 
the State. 

6. The first session of the Legislature of the State of Wiseomsin shall commence 
on the first Monday in June next, and shall be held at the village of Madison, 
which shall be and remain the seat of Government until otherwise provided by 
law. 

7. All county, precinct, and township officers, shall continue to hold their respec- 
tive offices, unless removed by the competent authority, until the Legislature shall, 
in conformity with the provisions of this Constitution, provide for the holding of 
elections to fill such offices respectively. 

8. The President of this convention shall, immediately after its adjournment, 
cause a fair copy of this Constitution, together with a copy of the act of the Legis- 
lature of this Territory, entitled "An Act in relation to the formation of a State 
Government in Wisconsin, and to change the time of holding the annual session of 
the Legislature," approved October twenty-seventh, one thousand eight hundred 
and forty-seven, providing for the calling of this convention, and also a copy of so 
much of the last census of this Territory as exhibits the number of its inhabitants, 
to be forwarded to the President of the United States, to be laid before the Congress 
of the United States at its present session. 

9. This Constitution shall be submitted, at an election to be held on the second 
Monday in March next, for ratification or rejection, to all white male persons of 
the age of twenty-one years or upwards, who shall then be residents of this Terri- 
tory and citizens of the United States, or shall have declared their intention to be- 
come such in conformity with the laws of Congress on the subject of naturaliza- 
tion; and all persons having such qualifications shall be entitled to vote for or 
against the adoption of this Constitution, and for all officers first elected under it. 
And if the Constitution be ratified by the said electors, it shall become the Consti- 
tution of the State of Wisconsin. On such of the ballots as are for the Constitu- 
tion, shall be written or printed the word "yes;" and on such as are against the 
Constitution, the word " no." The election shall be conducted in the manner now- 
prescribed by law, and the returns made by the clerks of the boards of supervisors 
or county commissioners (as the case may.be) to the Governor of the Territory, 
at any time before the tenth day of April next. And in the event of the ratifica- 
tion of this Constitution, by a majority of all the votes given, it shall be the duty 
of the Governor of this Territory to make proclamation of the same, and to trans- 
mit a digest of the returns to the Senate and Assembly of the State, on the first day 
of their session. An election shall be held for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, 
Treasurer, Attorney-General, members of the State Legislature, and members of 
Congress, on the second Monday of May next, and no other or further notice of 
auch election shall be required. 

10. Two members of Congress shall also be elected on the second Monday of May 
next; and, until otherwise provided by law, the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, 
Jefferson, Racine, ^^'alworth, llock, and Greene, shall constitute the first Congres- 
sional district, and elect one member ; and the counties of Washington, Sheboygan, 



296 CONSTITUTION. 

Manitouwoc, Calumet, Brown, Winnebajro. Fond da Lac, Marquette, Pauk, Portage, 
Columbia. Dodj;e, Dane, Iowa, La Fayette, Grant, Richland. Crawford, Chippewa, 
St. Croix, and La Poiute, shall constitute the second Congressional district, and shall 
elect one member. 

11. The several elections provided for in this article shall be conducted according 
to the existinj: laws of the Territory: Provided, That no elector shall be entitled to 
vote, except in the town, ward, or precinct where he resides. The returns of elec- 
tion for senators and members of Assembly shall be transmitted to the clerk of the 
board of supervisors, or county commissioners, as the case may be, and the votes 
shall be canvassed, and certificates of election issued, as now provided by law. In 
the first Senatorial district, the returns of the election for Senator shall be made 
to the proper officer in the county of Brown. In the second Senatorial district, to 
the proper officer in the countj' of Columbia. In the third Senatorial district, to 
the proper officer in the county of Crawford. In the fourth Senatorial district, to 
the proper officer in the county of Fond du Lac. And in the fifth Senatorial district, 
to the proper officer in the county of Iowa. The returns of election for State offi- 
cers and members of Congress shall be certified and transmitted to the Speaker of 
the Assembly at the seat of Government, in the same manner as the votes for Dele- 
gate to Congress are required to be certified and returned by the laws of the Terri- 
tory of Wisconsin, to the Secretary of said Territoi-y. and in such time that they may 
be received on the first Monday in June next; and as soon as the Legislature shall 
be organized, the Speaker of the Assembly and the President of the Senate shall, in 
the presence of both Houses, examine the returns, and declare who are duly elected 
to till the several offices hereinbefore mentioned, and give to each of the persona 
elected a certificate of his election. 

12. Until there shall be a new apportionment, the Senators and members of the 
Assembly shall be apportioned among the several districts, as hereinafter men- 
tioned; and each district shall be entitled to elect one Senator ormember of the 
Assembly, as the case may be. 

The counties of Brown, Calumet, Manitouwoc, and Sheboygan, shall constitute 
the first Senate district. 

The counties of Columbia, Marquette, Portage, and Sauk, shall constitute the 
second Senate district. 

The counties of Crawford, Chippewa, St. Croix, and La Pointe, shall constitute the 
third Senate district. 

The counties of Fond du Lac, and Winnebago, shall constitute the fourth Senate 
district. 

The counties of Iowa, and Richland, shall constitute the fifth Senate district. 

The county of Grant shall constitute the sixth Senate district. 

The county of La Fayette shall constitute the seventh Senate district. 

The county of Green shall constitute the eighth Senate district. 

The county of Dane shall constitute the ninth Senate district. 

The county of Dodge shall constitute the tenth Senate district. 

The county of Wixshington shall constitute the eleventh Senate district. 

The county of JetTerson shall constitute the twelfth Senate district. 

The county of Waukesha shall constitute the thirteenth Senate district. 

The county of Walworth shall constitute the fourteenth Senate district. 

The county of l{ock shall constitute the fifteenth Senate district. 

The towns of Southport, Pike, Pleasant, Prairie, Paris, Bristol, Brighton, Salem, 



CONSTITUTION. 21it 

and Wheatland, in the county of Racine, shall constitute the sixteenth Senate dis- 
trict. 

The towns of Racine, Caledonia. Mount Pleasant, Raymond, Norway, Rochester, 
Yorkville, and Burlington, in the county of Racine, shall constitute the seventeenth 
Senate district. 

The third, fourth, and fifth wards of the city of Milwaukee, and the towns of 
Lake, Oak Creek, Franklin, and Greenfield, in the county of Milwaukee, shall con- 
stitute the eighteenth Senate district. 

The first and second wards of the city of Milwaukee, and the towns of iNIilwau- 
kee, Wauwatosa, and Granville, in the county of Milwaukee, shall constitute the 
nineteenth Senate district. 
The county of Brown shall constitute an Assemhly district. 
The county of Calumet shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The county of Manitouwoc shall constitute an Assembly district, 
The county of Columbia shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The counties of Crawford and Chippewa shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The counties of St. Croix and La Poiute shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The towns of Windsor, Sun Prairie, and Cottage Grove, in the county of Dane, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Madison, Cross Plains, Clarkson, Springfield, Verona. Montrose, 
Oregon, and Greenfield, in the county of Dane, shall constitute an Assembly dis- 
trict. 

The towns of Rome, Dunkirk, Christiana, Albion, and Rutland, in the county of 
Dane, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Burnett, Chester, Le Roy, and "VVilliamstown, in the county of Dodge, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Fairfield, Hubbard, and Rubicon, in the county of Dodge, shall con- 
stitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Ilustisford, Ashippun, Lebanon, and Emmet, in the county of Dodge, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Elba, Lowell, Portland, and Clyman, in the county of Dodge, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Calamus, Beaver Dam, Fox Lake, and Trenton, in the county of 
Dodge, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Calumet, Forest, Auburn, Byron, Taychedah, and Fond du Lac, in 
the county of Fond du Lac, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Alto, Metoman, Ceresco, Rosendale, Waupun, Oakfield, and Seven 
Mile Creek, in the county of Fond du Lac, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The precincts of Hazel Green, Fairplay, Smeltzers Grove, and Jamestown, in the 
county of Grant, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The precincts of Plattville, Head of Platte, Centreville, Muscoday, and Fennimore, 
in the county of Grant, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The precincts of Pleasant Valley, Potosi, Waterloo, Hurricane, and New Lisbon, 
in the county of Grant, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The precincts of Beetown, Patch Grove, Cassville, Millville, and Lancaster, in the 
county of Grant, shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The county of Green shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The precincts of Dallas, Pedler's Creek, Mineral Point, and Yellow Stone, in the 
county of Iowa, shall constitute an Assembly district. 
The precincts of Franklin, Dodgeville, Porter's Grove, Arena, and Percussion, 



298 CONSTITUTION. 

in the county of Iowa, and the county of Richland, shall constitute an Assembly 
district. 

The towns of Watcrtown, Aztalan, and Waterloo, in the county of Jefferson, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Ixonia, Concord, Sullivan, Hebron, Cold Spring, and Palmyra, in 
the county of JefftTson. shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Lake Mills. Oakland. Koskononoj. Farmington, and Jefferson, in the 
county of Jefferson, shall constitute an Assembly district 

The precincts of Benton. Elk Grove, Belmont, Willow Springs, Prairie, and that 
part of Shullslmrirh precinct north of town one, in the county of La Fayette, shall 
constitute an .Assembly district. 

The precincts of Wiota, Wayne, Gratiot, White Oak Springs. Fever River, and 
that part of Shullsburgh precinct south of town two, in the county of La Fayette, 
6h:ill constitute an Assembly district. 

The county of Marquette shall constitute an Assembly district 

The first ward of the city of Milwaukee shall constitute an Assembly district 

The second ward of the city of Milwaukee shall constitute an As.scnibly district. 

The third ward of the city of Milwaukee shall constitute an Assembly district 

The fourth and fifth wards of the city of Milwaukee shall constitute an As.sembly 
district. 

The towns of Franklin, and Oak Creek, in the county of Milwaukee, shall consti- 
tute an Assembly district 

The towns of Greenfield and Lake, in the county of Milwaukee, shall constitute 
an Assembly district. 

The towns of Granville. Wauwatosa, and Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The county of Portage shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The town of Racine, in the county of Racine, shall constitute an Assembly dis- 
trict. 

The towns of Norway, Raymond, Caledonia, and Mount Pleasant, in the county 
of Racine, shall constitute an Assembly district 

The towns 6f Rochester, Burlington, and Yorkville,in the county of Racine, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Southport, Pike, and Pleasant Prairie, in the county of Racine, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Paris. Bristol, Brighton, Salem, and Wheatland, in the county of 
Racine, shall constitute an Assembly district 

The towns of Janesville and Bradford, in the county of Rock, shall constitute an 
Assembly district. 

The towns of Beloit, Turtle, and Clinton, in the county of Rock, shall constitute 
an As.«emV)ly district. 

The towns of Magnolia, Union, Porter, and Fulton, in the county of Rock, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Milton, Lima, and Johnstown, in the county of Rock, shall consti- 
tute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Newark, Rock, Avon. Spring Valley, and Centre, in the county of 
Rock, shall constitute an Assembly district: Pmri't/eJ, That if the Legislature shall 
divide the town of Centre, they may attach such part of it to ttie district lying next 
north, US they may deem expedient 

The county of Sauk shall constitute an Assembly district 



CONSTITUTION. 209 

Precincts nnmbered one. three, and seven, in the county of Sheboygan, shall con- 
stitute an Assembly district. 

Precincts numbered two, four, five, and six, in the county of Sheboygan, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Troy, East Troy, and Spring Prairie, in the county of Walworth, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Whitewater, Richmond, and Lagrange, in the county of Walworth, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Geneva, Hudson, and Bloomfield, in the county of Walworth, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Darien, Sharon, Walworth, and Linn, in the county of Walworth, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Delavan, Sugar Creek, La Fayette, and Elkhorn, in the county of 
Walworth, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Lisbon, Menomonee, and Brookfield, in the county of Waukesha, 
shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Warren, Oconomewoc, Summit, and Ottowa, in the county of Wau- 
kesha, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Delafield, Genesee, and Pewaukee^ in the county of Waukesha, shall 
constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Waukesha and New Berlin, in the county of Waukesha, shall con- 
stitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Eagle, Mukwanego, Yernon, and Muskego, in the county of Wau- 
keslia, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Port Washington, Fredonja, and Clarence, in the county of Wash- 
ington, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Grafton and Jackson, in the county of Washington, shall constitute 
an Assembly district. 

The towns of Mequon and Germantown, hi the county of Washington, shall con- 
stitute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Polk, Richfield, and Erin, in the county of Washington, shall consti- 
tute an Assembly district. 

The towns of Hartford, Addison, West Bend, and North Bend, in the county of 
Washington, shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The county of Winnebago shall constitute an Assembly district. 

The foregoing districts are subject, however, so far to be altered that when any 
new town shall be organized, it may be added to either of the adjoining Assembly 
districts. 

13. Such parts of the common law as are now in force in the Territory of Wiscon- 
sin, not inconsistent with this Constitution, shall be and continue part of the law 
of this State, until altered or suspended by the Legislature. 

14. The Senators first elected in the even-numbered Senate districts, the Governor, 
Lieutenant-Governor, and other State officers first elected under this Constitution, 
shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices on the first Monday of June 
next, and shall continue in ofRce for one year from the first Monday of January 
next. The Senators first elected in the odd-numbered Senate districts, and the 
members of the Assembly first elected, shall enter upon their duties respectively oa 
the first Monday of J«ne next, and shall continue in office until the first Monday 
in January next. 

15. The oath of Office may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace, 
until the Legislature shall otherwise direct. 



300 CONSTITUTION* 



RESOLUTION S. 

Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be and is hereby requested, upoa 
the application of Wisconj<in for admission into the Union, so to alter the provisions 
of an Act of Congrass entitled "An Act to grant a quantity of land to the Territory 
of Wisconsin for the purpose of aiding in opening a canal to connect the watrrs of 
Lake Michigan with those of Kock Kiver," approved June eighteenth, eighteen hun- 
dred and thirty-eight; and so to alter the terms and conditions of the grant made 
therein, that the odd-numbered sections thereby granted, and remaining unsold, 
may be held and disposed of by the State of Wisconsin, as part of the five hundred 
thousand acres of land to which said State is entitled by the provisions of an Act 
of Congress entitled '"An Act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public 
lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved the fourth day of September, 
eighteen hundred and forty-one; and further, that the even-numbered sections re- 
served by Congress may be offered for sale by the United States for the same mini- 
mum price, and subject to the same rights of pre-emption as other public lands of 
the United States. 

Resolved, That Congress be further requested to pass an act whereby the excess 
price over and above one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, which may have 
been paid by the purchasers of said even-numbered sections which shall have been 
Fold by the United States, be refunded to the present owners thereof, or they be 
allowed to enter any of the public^lands of the United States, to an amount equal 
in value to the excess so paid. 

Resolved, That, in case the odd-numbered sections shall be ceded to the State as 
aforesaid, the same shall be sold by the State in the same manner as other school 
lands : Provided, That the same rights of pre-emption as are now granted by the 
laws of the United States shall be secured to persons who may be actually settled 
upon such lands at the time of the adoption of this Constitution: And provided fur- 
ther. That the excess price over and above one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, 
absolutely or conditionally contracted to be paid by the purchasers of any part of 
said sections which shall have been sold by the Territory of "Wisconsin, shall be re- 
mitted to such purchasers, their representatives, or assigns. 

Resolved, That Congress be requested, upon the application of Wisconsin for ad- 
mission into the Union, to pass an act whereby the grant of five hundred thousand 
acres of land, to which the State of Wisconsin is entitled by the provisions of an Act 
of Congress entitled "An Act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public 
lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved the fourth day of September, 
eighteen hundred and forty-one, and also the five per centum of the nett proceeds 
of the public lands lying within the State, to which it shall become entitled on its 
admission into the Union, by the provisions of an Act of Congress, entitled "An 
Act to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and State 
Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union," approved the 
sixth day of August, eighteen hundred and fortj^-six, shall be granted to the State 
of Wisconsin for the use of schools, instead of the purposes mentioned in said Acts 
of Congress respectively. 

Resolved, That the Congress of the United States be and hereby is requested, upon 
the admission of this State into the Union, so as to alter the provisions of the Act 
of Congress, entitled " An Act to grant a certain quantity of land to aid in the 



CONSTITUTION. 301 

improvement of the Fox and Wi'iconsin Rivers, and to connect the same by a canal 
in the Territory of Wisconsin," that the price of the lands reserved to the United 
States shall be reduced to the minimum price of the public lands. 

jResoIcad, That the Lcjjislature of this State sh.ill make provision by law for the 
sale of the lands granted to the State in aid of said improvements, subject to the 
same rights of pre-emption to the settlers thereon, as are now allowed by law to 
settlers on the public lands. 

Kcsolvcd, That the foregoing resolutions be appended to and signed with the Con- 
stitution of Wisconsin, and submitted therewith to the people of this Territory, and 
to the Congress of the United States. 

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands, at Madison, the first day 
of February, A. D., eighteen hundred hundred and forty -eight. 

MORGAN L. MARTIN, President. 
Thomas M-IIogH; Secretary, 



26 



•WISCONSIN STATE GOVERNMENT. 

Gmiernor — Coles Basiiford. 
Private Secrdary—n. F. Hopkins. 
Lieutenant-Gnvcrnor — XnTHVR M' Arthur. 
Secretary of State — David W. Jonks. 
Assistant Secretary of State — Joati W. IIUNT. 
Treasurer — Chakles Kuehn. 
Assistant Treasurer — Carl Habicii. 
Attorney - General — ^ylhLl\M R.Smith. 
J5«nA,- Comptroller — WiLUAW. M. Dennis. 
Assistant Bank Comptroller — K. Menges. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction — A. C. Barry. 
As^stanf' " —M.S. Barry. 

State Librarian — llouKQ-e, Rublee. 
Superintendent of Public Property — J. II. PruesS. 
Slate Prison Commissioner — Edw. MGarry. 
Adjutant-General— Ayiksx Cobb. 
Commissar y-General — y . W. Koth. 

SUPREME COURT. 

Chief Justice— ET^vf.K^j) V. "Whiton. 
Assistant Justices — A. D. Smith, 0. Cole. 
Ckrk — La Fayette Kellogg. 

JUDGES OP CIRCUIT COURTS. 

First Circuit — JoujJ M. Keep, Beloit 
Second " A. \V. Randall, AVaukesha. 

Third " C. U. Larrabee, Horicon. 

Fourth " W- R. Gorsline, Sheboygan. 

Fifth " M. M. CoTHREN, Mineral Point. 

Sixth " George G.u,e, La Crosse. 
Seventh " George W. Cate, Stevens Point. 

Eighth « S. S. N. Fuller, Hudson 

JVinth " A. L. Collins, Madison. 
Tenth " S. R. Cotton, Green Bay. 

U. S. District Judge — ANDREVf Miller. 

" Attorney — Don A. J. Upham. 

UNITED STATES SENATORS. 

Hon. Charles Durkee, Windsor. 
Hon. James R. Doolittle, Racine. 

REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 

First District— J OBii F. Potter, East Troy. 
Second " C- C. Washbdrne, iNrmeral Point. 

2hird " C. BiLUNGUUBST, Juneau. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 

State TJmversitt, located at Madison, has a fund of $311,000, drawing 7 per cent, 
interest; and this fund will soon be increased to at least $350,000 by the disposition 
of the remainder of the University lands granted by Congress. Its annual income 
will soon amount, from this source, to $25,000, and probably some $5000 from stu- 
dent's fees and other sources. 

Common ScnooLS. — By the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, it 
appears that the total amount of the School Fund, on the 1st of January, 1857, waa 
$2,047,903 74. 

The State Historical Society, at Madison, possesses a library of over 3120 vol- 
umes; besides a large number of maps and engraviugis; a fine collection of oil 
paintings, chiefly portraits of early pioneers and prominent men; together with 
many valuable memoirs of our early history. 

Wisconsin Institute for the Education op the Blint>, Janesville. — This Institu- 
tion was opened August 1st, 1850, and is in a highly flourishing condition. 

Deaf and Dumb Institute, DeXavan, Walworth County. — This Institution was esta- 
blished in 1852. Buildings have been erected to accommodate 60 pupils. The charge 
to pupils of other States is $100 pet annum for tuition and board. 

State Prison, at Wampum, Fond du Lac County. — The labor of the convicts is let 
out by contract, at rates from 48 to 60 cents a day, 25 cents a day being allowed for 
apprentices. 

State Agricultural Society is located at Madison. It receives $3000 annually 
from the State, 

Banks. — The number of Banks organized and doing business in the State, on the 
1st of January, 1857, was 50, the a'ggregate capital of which was $3,290,000. The reve- 
nue to t\\e State arising from the tax on banking capital, in 1856, was $37,564 09, 
The total amount of countersigned notes issued to Banks and outstanding, in Janu- 
ary last, was $1,950,967. Amount of securities on deposit with the Bank Comp- 
troller, to redeem outstanding notes, $2,208,476. 

Public Lands. — The amount of public lands disposed of by entry and location, up 
to June 30th, 1S56, was 9,066,912 26-100 acres. The following is a list of the Land 
Offices, with the names of the Registers and Receivers, viz. : — 

Mineral Point Joel C. Squires, Register Henry Plowman, Receiver. 

Manasha John A. Bryan, " Benjamin II. Mooers, " 

Eau Claire W. T. (ialloway, " M. B. Bouden, " 

Hud.son T. Rush Spencer, " James D. Hcyment, '* 

Stevens Point Abraham Brawley, " Albert G. Elli.s, " 

La Cros.s« Charles S.Benton, " Theodore Rodolf, " 

Superior Daniel Shaw, " Eliab B. Dean, Jr., '* 

(304) 



LIST OF POST-OFFICES 



IN THE 



STATE OF WISCONSIN, 

Arranged Al^hahelically in Counties. 



Adams County. 

Big Spring. 

Davis' Corners. 

Dell Prairie. 

Edna. 

Fountain. . 

Germantown. 

Grand Marsh. 

Jackson. 

Little Lake. 

Maugh's Mills. 

Mill Haven. 

Necediih. 

Kew Chester. 

One Mile Creek. 

Point Bluff. 

Preston. 

Pilot Knob. 

Quincy. 

Roche-a-Cri. 

Seven Mile Creek. 

Twin Valley. 

White Creek. 

Wonewoc. 

Bad Ax County. 

Avalanche. 
Bad Ax. 
Coon Prairie. 
Debello. 
De Iroto. 
Harmony. 
Hi 11. < bo rough. 
Kickapoo. 
New Biookville. 
Retreat. 



Bad Ax Co. — Continued. 
Newville. 
River Side. 
Romance. 
Victory . 
Tiroqua. 
Weister. 
Warner's Landing. 

Brown County. 

De. Pere (oh.). 
Fort Howard. 
Fremont. 
Green Bay. 
Mukwa. 
New Franken. 
Oneida. 
Wequiot. 
Wrights town. 

Buffalo County. 

Alma. 
Fountain City. 

Calumet County. 

Brillion. 

Charlestown. 

Chilton. 

Dundas. 

Hi-h Clifif. 

Lynn. 

New Holstein. 

Pequot. 

Stockbridge. 



CMppewa County. 

Chippewa City. 
Chippewa Falls. 
Clear Water. 
Menominee. 

Clark County. 

Clark C H. 
Wedges Creek. 

Columbia County. 

Arlington. 
Basin Lake. 
Beaver Creek. 
Bellefountain. 
Cambria. 
Centreville. 
Columbus. 
Courtland. 
Bekorra. 
East Handolph. 
Fall River. 
Hampden. 
Leeds. 
Lodi. 
Lowville. 
Marcel Ion. 
New Haven. 
Newport. 
Oshaukuta. 
Otseo-o. 
Pacific. 
Pardeeville. 
Pigeon Grove. 
( 306 ) 



306 



LIST OF POST-OFFICES. 



Cdumhia Co. — Continued. 
Portajre City. 
Port ilope. 
roj'iiett. 

Bandolph Centre. 
Rio. 

Rocky Run. 
SlioiieaW. 
■NVe.Uli Prairie. 
Wyocena. 

Crawford County. 

Bell Center. 

Eastman. 

Hill's Valley. 

Marietta. 

Slount Sterling. 

Ocena. 

Prairie du Chien. 

Rising Sun. 

Seneca. 

Sprintrrille. 

Stockvillc. 

Wattering Grove. 

Dane County. 

AlMon. 

Ancient, 

Ashton. 

Belleville. 

Berry. 

Beverly. 

Black Earth. 

Blue Mound. 

Burke. 

Cambridge. 

Christiana. 

Cottage Grova. 

Cross Plains. 

Dane. 

Peerfii'ld. ' 

Door Creek. 

Dunkirk. 

Eolia. 

Fitclihurgh. 

Grand Spring. 

Ilauchettville. 

Lake View. 

Leicester. 

Madison. 

Mazo Manie. 

Middletou. 

Jlount Vernon. 

Oregon. 

Pcirccville. 

Pine Bluff. 

Pleasant Branch. 

Primrose. 

Roxbury. 



Dane Co. — Coniinued. 
Rutland. 
Spring Dale. 
Stoner's I'rairie. 
Stoughton. 
Sun I'rairie. 
Sweet Home. 
Utica. 
Verona. 
Westport. 
AViudsor. 
York. 



Dodge County. 

Ashipun. 

Beaver Dam. 

Burnett. 

Chester. 

Chester Station. 

Clyman. 

East Lomira. 

Elba. 

Emmett. 

Farniersville. 

Fox Lake. 

Hermann. 

Horicon. 

Hustisford. 

Iron Ridge. 

Juneau. 

Le Roy. 

Lomira. 

Lowell. 

Mayville. 

Napasha. • 

Neosho. 

Oak Grove. 

Portland. 

Rubicon. 

Theresa. 

Woodland. 

Door County. 

Sturgeon Bay. 
"Washington Harbor. 

Douglass County. 
Superior. 

Dunn County. 

North I'epin. 
Ogalla. 

Fond du Lac County. 

Alcove. 
Alto. 



Fond du Lac Co. — Cont^d. 
Ash ford. 
Auburn. 
Black Hawk. 
Bothelle. 
Brandon. 
Byron. 

Calumet Tillage. 
Ceresco. 
Dotyville. 
Eden. 
El Dorado. 
Empire. 
Fair Water. 
Fond du Lac. 
Foster. 
Hinesberg. 
Junius. 
Ladoga. 
Lamartine. 
Mary town. 
Metomen. 
Moria. 
Murone. 
Nanaupa. 
Newfaue. 
Oakfield. 
Oceola. 
Kosendale. 
Rush Lake. 
Taycheeda. 
Waucousta. 
Wawpuh. 
West Kosendale. 



Grant County. 

Beetown. 

Block House Mills. 

Bunker Hill. 

Cassville. 

Charlotte. 

Dickeysville. 

Ellenboro'. 

Fair Play. 

Fennimore. 

Hazel Green. 

Hickory Grove. 

Hurricane Grove. 

Jamestown. 

Lancaster (c.h.). 

Little Grant. 

Millville. 

Moutfort. 

Mount Hope. 

Muscoda. 

New California. 

Patch Grove. 

Platteville. 

Plum Grove. 

Potosi. 



LIST OF POST-OFFICES, 






Grant Co. — Cojitinited. 
Rockville. 
Siiint Rose. 
Smeltzer's Grore. 
Tafion. 
■\Vaslibvirn. 
WyalusiDg. 

Green County. 

Albany. 

Attica. 

Bern. 

Brooklyn. 

Cadiz. 

Clarence. 

Dayton. 

Decatur. 

Exeter. 

Farmer's Grove.. 

Hoosick. 

Jordan. 

Juda. 

Monroe (c.h.). 

Monticello. 

Worefield. 

Nevada. 

New Glarus. 

Shuey's Mills 

Skinner. 

Spring; Grove 

Sylvester. 

Walnut Springs. 

Willet. 

Iowa County. 

Arena. 

Clyde. 

Constance. 

Dodgeville. 

Dover, 

Helena. 

Highland. 

Jeunieton. 

Linden 

"iMifflin. 

Blineral Point. 

BIoscow. 

Bidgevray. 

>Vyoming. 

Jackson County. 

Black River Falls. 
Canton. 
Wei rose. 
Wound Springs. 
North Bend. 
I'ine Hill. 
Pole Grove. 
Koaring Creek. 
Smith's Ferry. 



Jefferson County. 

Aztalan. 

Bark River. 

Cold Spring. 

Concord. 

Farmington. 

Fort Atkinson. • 

Golden Lake. 

Hubbleton. 

Ilelenville, 

Ixonia. 

Jeflhson (c.h.). 

.Johnson's Creek. 

Koskonong. 

Lake Mills. 

Milford. 

Oak Hill. 

Oakland. 

Palmyra. 

Rome. 

Sullivan. 

Transit. 

AVaturloo. 

Watertown. 



Kenosha County. 

Brighton. 

Bristol. 

Cypress. 

Kenosha. 

Liberty. 

Marion. 

Paris. 

Salem. 

Wheatland. 

Wilmot. 

Kewaunee County. 

Kewaunee. 

La Crosse County. 

Bangor. 
Burns. 
Burr Oak. 
Half Way Creek. 
La Crosse. 
Windoro. 
Neshonoc. 
Onalaska. 

La Fayette County. 

Arsvle. 
Bashford. 
Benton. 
Cottage Inn. 
Darlington. 



La Croxsp, Co, — Continued. 

Elk Grove. 

Fayette. 

Georgetown. 

Gratiot. 

New Diggings. 

Shullsburgh. 

SpafTord. 

White Oak Spring. 

Wiota. 

Yellow Stone. 

La Pointe County. 

La Pointe. 

Odanah. 

Whittlesey. 

Manitowoc County. 

Branch. 

Clark's Mills. 

Cooperstown. 

Eaton. 

Francis Creek. 

Hika. 

Manitowoc. 

Manitowoc Rapids. 

Maple Grove. 

Meeme. 

jMishicot. 

Neshoto. 

Newtonburgh. 

Niles. 

Two Rivers 



Marathon County. 

Knowlton. 
Little Bull Falls. 
Wausau (c.h.). 

Marquette County. 

Berlin. 

Dartford. 

Germania. 

Grand Prairie. 

Green Lake. 

Greenwood. 

Harrisville. 

Kingston. 

La Cote St. Marie. 

Lake Maria. 

:Mlntyre Creek. 

>Lackford. 

Blarkesau. 

Marquette. 

INIontello. 

Moundville. 



308 



LIST OF POST-OFFICES. 



Marquette Co. — Continued. 
Keslikoro. 
Newton. 
Ordino. 
Oxford. 
Pakwaukee. 
Pine Kiver. 
Princeton. 
Kock Ilil]. 
Koslin. 
Stone Hill. 
Thchorah. 
■\Vestfield. 
West Green Lake. 

Milwaukee County. 

Butler. 
Davis. 
Franklin. 
Good Hope. 
Granville. 
Greenfield. 
Hale's Corners. 
Lamberton. 
Milwaukee. 
New Berlin. 
Now Keoln. 
Oak Creek. 
Root Creek. 
Ten Mile House. 
"W'auwatosa. 
"West Granville. 

Monroe County. 

Anoielo. 

Bisi Valley. 

Clifton. 

Glendale. 

Jacksonville. 

Leon. 

Mount Pisgah. 

Puckwaua. 

Kidireville. 

Sjiarla. 

Tomah. 

Oconto County. 

Clarksvillc. 
Marriiiette. 
Oconto. 
Stiles. 

Outagamie County. 

.Aiiplcton. 

Kllinsrton. 

Freedom. 

Greenville. 

Hortonville. 



Outagamie Co. — Ccmtintied 

Kaukauna. 

Keshena. 

Lansing:. 

Little Chute. 

Medina. 

Sliaw-wu-no. 

Shiocton. • 

Wakefield. 

Ozaukee County. 

Cedar burgh. 
Fredonia. 
Freistadt. 
Grafton. 
Mequon River. 
Ozaukee. 
Sauk villa. 
Ulao. 

Pierce County. 

Clifton Mills. 
Diamond Bluff. 
Pleasant Tiew. 
Prescdtt (c.h.). 
River Falls. 
Trim Belle. 

Polk County. 

Osceola Mills. 

Portage County. 

Almond. 
Ba direr. 
Buena Vista. 
Eau Pleine. 
Grand Kaijids. 
Iron Creek. 
Lone Pine. 
Madely. 
Flover (c.h.). 
Saratoga. 
Stevens Point. 

Racine County. 

Burlington. 

Caldwell Prairie. 

Caledonia. 

Caledonia Centre. 

Dcnoon. 

Ives' Grove. 

Kansasville. 

Mount Pleasant 

Norway. 

Pan Van. 

Racine. 

Raymond. 



Racine Co.—ConiimiecU 
Roche«!ter. 
South Bristol. 
Sylvania. 
Trowbridge. 
Union Grove. 
M'aterford. 
Wliitesville. 
Yorkville. 

Richland County. 

Ashland. 

Buckeye. 

Cazenovia. 

Cincinnati. 

Fancy Creek. 

Forest. 

Loyd. 

Melanchthon Creek. 

Neptune. 

Orion. 

Port Andrew. 

Richland Centre. 

Richland City. 

Rockbridge. 

Sextonville. 

A'iola. 

West Branch. 

Woodstock. 

Rock County. 

Afton. 

Avon. 

Bass Creek. 

Beloit. 

Center. 

Clinton. 

Cooksville. 

Kdgerton. 

Emerald Grove. 

Evansville. 

Fairfield. 

Footville. 

Fulton. 

Inmaiisville. 

Janesville. 

.lohnstown. 

.lohnstown Centre. 

Ley den. 

Lima Centre. 

Magnolia. 

•Milton. 

Nidaros. 

Osborn. 

Rock Prairie. 

Shopiere. 

Spring Valley. 

Suninierville. 

Teotsa. 

Union. 



LIST OP POST-OFFICES. 



309 



St. Croix County. 

Baker's Station. 
Brookville. 
Falls of St. Croix. 
Hudson. 

Kinnick Kinuick. 
Somerset. 

Sauk County. 

Barahoo (c.h..). 

Dellona. 

Delton. 

Garrison. 

Giddings. 

Ilarrisburg. 

Jonesville. 

Laval ie. 

Loganyille. 

Marston. 

Merrimack. 

Otterville. 

Prairie Du Sac. 

Reedsbiirg. 

Howell's Mills. 

Kussell's Corners. 

Saudiisky. 

Sauk City. 

Spi'ing Green. 

"VVilsou's Creek. 

Shawana County. 
Embarras. 

Shelioygan County. 

Adell. 

Beech Wood. 

Cascade. 

Cedar Grove. 

Edwards. 

Elkhart. 

Gibbville. 

Greenbush. 

Hingham. 

Howard's Grove. 

Onion River. 

Plymouth. 

Rath bun. 

Russell. 

Scott. 

Sheboyr/an (c.h.), 

Sheboygan Ifalls. 

"VYinooski. 

Tempelean County. 

Gatesville. 

Montoville. 

Sumner 



Walworth County. 

Adams. 

Allen's Grove. 

Big Foot Prairie. 

Bioomfield. 

Darien. 

Del a van. 

East Troy, 

Elk Horn (c.h.). 

Geneva. 

Geneva Bay. 

Grove. 

Heart Prairie. 
Houey Creek. 

La Fayette. 

La Grange. 

Little Prairie. 

Lyons. 

Millard. 

Richmond. 

Sharon. 

South Grove. 

Springfield. 

Spring Prairie. 

State Line. 

Sugar Creek. 

Tirade. 

Troy. 

Troy Centre. 

Troy Lakes. 

Utter Corners. 

Vienna. 

Walworth. 

Westville. 

White Water. 

Washington County. 

Addison. 

Aurora. 

Barton. 

Boltonville. 

Cedar Creek. 

Fillmore, 

Hartford. 

Kewaskum. 

Meeker. 

Newburgh. 

Richfield. 

Schleisingerville. 

Staatsville, 

Station. 

Toland's Prairie. 

Wayne. 

West Bend. 

Young Hickory. 

Waukesha County. 

Big Bend. 
Brookfield. 



Waul'esJia Co.—Conlinued. 

Brookfield Centre. 

Delafield. 

Dodge's Corners. 

Dousman. 

DupUiinville. 

Eagle. 

Genesee, 

Hartland. 

Lake Five. 

Lannon Springs. 

Lisbon. 

Maple ton. 

Marcy. 

Menominee Falls. 

Merton. 

Mouches, 

Monterey. 

Mukwonago. 

Mugkego Centre. 

North Prairie Station. 

Oconomowock. 

Okauchee. 

Ottowa. 

Pew auk ee. 

Pine Lake. 

Prospect Hill. 

South Genesee. 

Summit. 

Sussex. 

Vernon. 

Waterville. 

Waukesha. 

Welsh. 



Waupaca County. 

Crystal Lake, 

Evanswood. 

Hobart's Mills. 

Lind. 

New London, 

North Royalton. 

Ogdensbnrgh. 

Readfield. 

Rural. 

Scandinavia. 

Waupaca. 



Waushara County. 

Adario. 

Blurton, 

Cedar Lake. 

Coloma. 

Corfu. 

Dakota. 

Hancock. 



810 



LIST OF POST-OFICES. 



Waushara Co. — Omtinued. 

Lincoln. 

Jlount Morris. 

Oasis. 

Toy Sippi. 

I'liiinfield. 

Saoraniento. 

?axi'ville. 

Silver l^ake. 

Ppriii'jT Lake. 

"W a u torn a. 

"VViilow Creek. 



Winnebago County. 



Alicnnia. 

Black Wolf. 

Butte des Morts. 

Campbell. 

Delhi. 

Eureka. 

Fisk's Corners. 

Groveland. 

Koro. 

Menapha. 

Neeuah. 



Winnebago Co. — OonPd, 
Nepeupkun, 
Nek a ma. 
Omro. 
Oshkosh. 
I'owaickum. 
Vinland. 
^Vaukau. 
AVeelaunee. 
Weyauweya. 
Winchester. 
Winneconne 



For the foregoing List we are indebted to J. 11. Colton & Co 'g Oenerai Post-Office 
Directory. 



LIST OF NEWSPAPERS IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. 



Place County. 

Appleton Outagamie 

Baraboo ^ Sauk 

" " Democrat 

'* " Republic. 

Bayfield La Pointe 

Beaver Dam Dodge 



Name of Paper. 
Crescent. 
Standard. 



Bayfield Mercury, 
Republican Journal. 



" Sentinel. 



Beloit Rock.. 



Ferlin Marquette 

Ceresco Fond du Lac. 

Columbus Columbia 



Elkhorn Walworth., 



Fond du Lac Fond du Lac. 



Journal. 

Collegian. 

Courant. 

Home. 

River Times. 

Republican JournaL 

Reporter. 

Reporter. 

Independent. 

Herald. 

Union. 

Freeman. 

Fountain City. 

Times. 

Advocate. 

Express. 

North Star. 

Gazette. 



Fox Lake Dodge 

Green Bay Brown. .«. 

Geneva Walworth 

Hudson St. Croix 

Janesville Rock 

" " Standard. 

" " Free Press. 

" " Farmer. 

" " Educational Journal, 

Jefferson Jefferson... 



Jeffersonian. 

Republican. 

Burr Oak. 

Democrat. 

Tribune and Telegraph. 

Herald. 

Patriot. 



Juneau Dodge 

Kenosha Kenosha 

Kenosha Kenosha 

Lancaster Grant 

Madison Dane 

" " Farmer. 

" " Argus and Democrat. 

" " State Journal. 

ff jj j Den Norsk e Americanerj 
' t (Norwegian.) 

" " Staats Zeitung. 

" " Madison Zeitung. 

" " Western Fireside. 

Manitouwoc Manitouwoc 



Tribune. 
Herald. 

Democrat (German). 
Nord Western CGerman) 
(311) 



y/g 



312 






NEWSPAPERS, 



Place. 



^<- 



County. 



Menasha... i. Winnebago. 

Mjklwaukee Milwaukee. 



Mineral Point Iowa., 



Name of Paper. 
Advocate. 
Free Democrat. 
Daily Wisconsin. 
Daily Sentinel. 
Morning News. 
Banner. 
See Bote. 
Tribune. 



Ozaukee Ozaukee.... 

Plattville Grant 

Plover Portage..,. 

Portage , Columbia., 



" " Democrat. 

INIonroe.... Green Sentinel. 

Oskosh Winnebago Democrat. 

" « Courier. 

, Phoenix (German). 

Advertiser. 

Independent American. 

, Herald. 

Badger State. 

" " , Republic. 

Port Washington Ozaukee Advertiser. 

" " Zeitung (German). 

" " Republican. 

Prairie du Chien Crawford Courier. 

« « Patriot. 

Prescott Pierce Wisconsin. 

Racine Racine Advocate. 

'' " Democrat. 

« « KirkTidenbe. 

Richland Centre Richland Observer. 

Ripon Fond du Lac 1 Herald. 

Sauk City Sauk Pioneer. 

Sheboygan Sheboygan Evergreen City Times. 

" " Lake Journal. 

" " Republicaner (German). 

Minmus Boett (German). 

Herald. 

Pick and Gad. 

Superior Chronicle. 

, Democrat. 

Chronicle. 

An zieger (German). 

Register. 

Spirit. 

Weganawegan. 



ShuUsburg. La Fayette. 



Superior Douglas... 

Watertown Jefferson. 



Waupacca Waupacca. 

Weganwega " 

Whitewater 



Walworth Gazette. 



Note, — The Author returns thanks to the Press generally for past favors, and would request a continuance 
of their kindness for Ihe future, by forwarding him copies of their papei'S containing important local infor. 
matinn, care of the Publisher, by which be will be enabled to post up more fully on the various localitiea, 
in future editions. 

THE END. 



